Irrelevance v2
by KageOkami-Kogo
Summary: Ten years after returning to the Alpha Quadrant, Naomi Wildman expected to be challenged at Starfleet Academy, expected to achieve her ambitions and one day return to Voyager. Naomi hadn't expected to reunite with an old friend, her "new" Astrometrics instructor, nor did she expect to struggle with growing feelings for him either! What's a cadet to do? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

 **A/N:** Welcome to the first chapter of my rewrite of Irrelevance. This story is the promised revision of the story I wrote many years ago and never finished, with techniques and skills I've developed further over the years. Hopefully it will make more sense, flow smoother, be longer, and be more realistic. This story begins 10 years after _End Game_ , the last episode of Voyager. There may be some subtle and not so subtle changes, but rest assured, it is all for the greater good. Be warned, I've become very adept at writing intense situations... and I have a great fondness for tension. I hope everyone enjoys this. Shout-outs will be located at the bottom.

 **Please note!** I decided to remove all the warnings from the "adult" chapters and give everyone a general warning now. This story has adult content and mature themes in it, so use your own discretion when reading.

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Quick steps fell upon the carpeted floor of a massive room, the throngs of people rushing with excitement.

Cadet Naomi Wildman's slender fingers gripped her orders as she walked through the registration section of Starfleet Academy. She had just said her _temporary_ goodbyes to her parents, her newly discovered father having almost bawled at how proud he was, his cranial ridges turning a dark purple with the intensity of the emotions. The memory of kissing and hugging them goodbye was fresh on her mind, but she could not allow it to overpower her. She was _finally here!_

Naomi could finally start her much desired education as a Starfleet Officer and become, not the _assistant_ of the Captain, but the actual Captain of Voyager! It had been her dream since she could remember and had done everything she could to prepare herself for this moment. Naomi knew it was going to be hard work, it was going to take everything she had in her to excel in every one of her classes, to study harder than ever before, and to focus with everything she had. She couldn't allow anything to distract her from her mission.

Naomi glanced up at the vast reception area, recognizing some architecture from her beloved ship and felt a pang of loss without the comfort of her friends and family that had once formed the motley crew of Voyager. Soon, she told herself, soon she would be back and she would use it to find a way to unite each quadrant of the Milkyway. She knew it was a high ambition, but something told her that it was possible, it would take time, but she would see her old friends again. Naomi took a deep breath for courage and scaled the steps to the widely populated reception desk.

"Excuse me!" "Pardon me!" "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see your... third leg?" Naomi blushed in embarrassment as she navigated her way past the multitude of other students, humanoid and not so much, trying not to make enemies before even starting her first class. She felt the beginnings of panic seize her heart at the sheer amount of people around her. She had learned to deal with a lot of people when arriving on Earth, but this was a bit more than the scant one hundred forty plus from the small ship she grew up on. After ten years, it still sometimes got to her. She wouldn't let it bother her though, not today! She knew that in no time she would _adapt –_ to take a phrase from her old mentor – and would make plenty of friends.

Releasing her breath and her frazzled nerves, she smiled at the elderly woman at the vacant spot at the desk before he and presented her data-pad. "Good morning Ma'am," she greeted politely. "My name is Naomi Wildman, nice to meet you!"

The woman took the PADD, giving the fresh green cadet a knowing smile and looked over the information, then nodded sagely back at the young woman. "Good to meet you, Cadet Wildman. We've been expecting your arrival. You will find your educational PADDs and uniforms already at your dorm. Just take the turbo lift to the third floor and head down junction C to the freshmen wing. Here is the list of your classes and where they are located," the woman informed, handing Naomi a PADD and went back to her work. Naomi smiled appreciatively and turned in the direction of the turbo lifts. She hoped that this semester was as exciting and fulfilling as her dear Captain had told her it would be.

Five years after Voyager had returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Naomi had tried to use her rapidly maturing physical and mental capacity to join Starfleet at the standard age of twelve.

Of course, her mother and father were at odds with each other when she brought this up. Samantha had been firm in her desire to keep Naomi away from Starfleet for at least another five years. In her mind, her daughter still needed to adapt to Earth, its customs, the people, and the laws before tackling such a thing, not to mention that she believed she had no business joining at such a young age. Her father, Greskrendtregk, on the other hand had nearly thrown a fit, arguing that Naomi was already at the same level as humans of her appearance, and that his kind joined the adults at a much younger age than her. Samantha had insisted that she was also part human and had to adhere to their ways while on Earth.

Suffice it to say, Naomi hadn't brought it back up until two years later, with the now Admiral Kathryn Janeway...

 _Three years ago..._

Naomi walked into the office, the sweet smell of coffee all but smacking her in the face as soon as the door slid open. She breathed it in and smiled wistfully. "If you like I could make you some too." Naomi opened her eyes to see Kathryn giving her a fond smile.

"Thank you, Capt- oh I mean _Admiral_ Janeway but no, that's okay, I was just reminiscing."

"Please, just Kathryn, or Kate if you're feeling brave," Kathryn winked playfully.

"How about Aunt Kathy?" Naomi grinned, remembering hearing the nickname from Icheb's stories of Q-Junior.

"Now don't start!" Kathryn tutted and circled her desk to give the girl a hug. "How is my Captain's Assistant doing these days?" she asked affectionately, pulling away to appraise the young woman. "Look at you, you're just about as tall me! You're growing up just as lovely as your mother," the older woman all but gushed.

"Thank you, Kate," Naomi blushed in embarrassment. "I'm actually here to talk about something serious, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, have a seat," Kathryn led her to the couches and took a sip of her coffee before setting it down and giving her her complete attention.

"You know I've been trying to get into Starfleet Academy for a little while now, right?" Naomi began, wringing her hands anxiously. She might have looked like she was well into her late teenage years, but at the moment she certainly felt like her standard age. Naomi knew she had no reason to be tense about the subject around Kathryn, but it was something she had been arguing about with her parents since practically meeting her father and it was dear to her heart.

"Of course, how could I forget? Your parents were practically at war with each other in my office over it!" Kathryn laughed softly. She was of course not laughing at the fact Naomi's parents were fighting, but rather at how much the two agreed with each other but fought for their own opinions anyway for what was best for their little girl. Even so, their love for each other and for their daughter was so clear that it was amusing to see how much they wanted to give in to the others point of view. Quite the show, really.

Naomi nodded, understanding what her old Captain meant. "Well... I was wondering, actually, if I could... possibly get your blessing to join? I mean- I know fourteen is still too young for most humans but as you can see, I do not look like a typical fourteen year old. I don't feel so much like a teenager anymore either. I just..." Naomi sighed, slouching over to rub the tension from her neck. "I just don't want to be left behind, you know?"

"Naomi, sweetheart," Kathryn slid over to next the girl and put her arm comfortingly over her shoulders. "Who told you you'd be left behind? Sometimes taking it slow while yes, can be frustrating, can also open the way to new experiences and opportunity to polish skills. I know you have your heart set on joining as soon as you can, but you really shouldn't let these short years with your parents go, just like that. Take the time to get to know them better, to learn new things, hone your knowledge over all that you can before joining, that way you'll be ahead of your peers. I know you're impatient, but if you just take a deep breath to clear your mind, you'll see the logic behind it. Trust me," Kathryn smiled reassuringly.

Naomi did as advised and cleared her thoughts, trying to see Kathryn's point of view and found that yes, her words had a merit of rationality and logic. "Alright..." she sighed wearily. "I suppose I can give it a few more years." She grinned when Kathryn hugged her tighter.

"Attah-girl! I know for a fact that once you join, you'll put the Star in Starfleet and make us all proud!" The former Captain grinned.

Naomi had been so engrossed in her memory that she failed to notice where she was going after stepping out of the turbo-lift. Too late she noticed that someone was in front of her, and collided with them, causing the PADDs she was lightly holding to spill on the floor, snapping her back to the present. "Oh!" she exclaimed, reaching down to pick them up. That's when she noticed another set of hands with hers, scrambling to pic up the devices before someone in that busy hall trampled over them.

"Sorry about that! I was in such a big hurry to meet my new professors I didn't pay attention to where I was going!" The voice of a young man sounded before her.

Naomi looked up to see a young Bajoran with short black hair and beautiful silver-gray eyes smiling sheepishly. She smiled back at him and shook her head, dismissing the apology. It was her own fault for getting so lost within her memories. "No, it's not your fault, it's quite alright. What's your name? Are you new here too?" She asked him curiously.

The young man grinned in response. He stood straight with her and handed her the PADDs he had helped her pick up as he answered. "No actually, this is my second term! My name is Kav'ain. What about you? Is this yours too? Or your third term?" Kav'ain asked.

Naomi smiled knowingly and shook his offered hand. "I'm Naomi Wildman and no, I'm actually a freshmen," she told him, understanding why he would think she would be in a year or two above him.

Kav'ain scratched his head nervously. "Oh, um..."

"I'm half Ktarian, I look older than I am," she said as an explanation and shrugged. This wasn't the first time this 'issue' came up and was the biggest source of frustration growing up.

"Oh! That makes sense! I know a couple Ktarians, they're a pretty mysterious people," he nodded in understanding. "So you're part human then?"

"Yep," Naomi said, going as far as popping the 'p'. "I have a feeling this won't be the first time I explain it," she scrunched her nose playfully.

"Nah, you'll be fine!" Kav'ain laughed, his eyes sparkling with mirth. Naomi smiled, happy that she had managed to make a friend already.

"Well, in the spirit of being fine, would you mind giving me tips on any professors you know? Who's who and which professors are lenient and which aren't? You know, so I'm not totally lost and all..." Naomi asked with anticipation, leaning forward on her heels.

Kav'ain smiled and nodded. "Sure, but I'm sorry to say, I don't know a whole lot of instructors yet."

Naomi shook her head. "That's okay. Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated."

Kav'ain nodded. "Professor Barclay is great if you take Historical Culture, he only stutters _most_ of the time," he grinned. Naomi smiled, remembering Barclay pretty well. He had been a huge part of getting Voyager home, after all. "Professor Markus is awesome if you take Physics, though he tends to shout a lot. Stay away from Professor Sato if you need to take Linguistics, as I hear it she comes from a long line Linguists and she sort of thinks she's entitled and all-knowing." Kav'ain rolled his eyes. "The other introductory professors are pretty okay. I'm afraid that's about all I know," Kav'ain explained.

Naomi nodded in understanding. "What about Astrometrics?"

"Professor Matthews is a pretty... well, _old_ guy, a bit bored with his posting and a bit senile if you ask around," Kav'ain grimaced. "I don't tend to believe rumors, but I did hear from a credible source that he's kind of monotone."

Naomi sighed inwardly and reviewed her PADD. Astrometrics was her first class, she didn't want to make a bad first impression but if the professor was as boring as he sounded, she might just fall asleep! Unfortunately, the computer announced that first period classes were beginning so she was unable to properly read over her other classes and only read enough to know where her first class was located.

Naomi was happy to find her new friend running with her to the same class. They smiled at each other and dodged students as they traversed the halls. As they entered the classroom they noticed several other cadets already there and chatting away. Apparently the professor was going to be a bit late, but that made settling in all that much easier. Naomi sat down at the front, in front of Kav'ain and turned to greet the other students just as the door opened and a short, balding man in uniform walked in.

"Good morning Cadets. I'm sorry to say Professor Matthews was reassigned to another academy in the Alpha Quadrant," the man began, ignoring the relieved sighs from the students. "I would like to introduce your new Astrometrics Professor, Icheb Hansen," he announced and stepped aside for said younger man to walk in. Naomi dropped her data-pad in shock as her long-time childhood friend entered and smiled tightly at his class.

Memories flashed before her eyes of the handful of times she had seen Icheb since reaching Earth. One in particular stood out, during a small reunion party with Voyager, five years after their arrival. Naomi had been going through the party and getting hugs and kisses from all her old friends when she noticed him, dressed in a Starfleet uniform, in deep conversation with Tuvok. He had been getting advice from the Vulcan on his upcoming 5-year mission since being promoted. Naomi remembered feeling an odd sensation of warmth flood her when he turned to her and smiled. She wasn't dumb, she knew that she had developed a crush on her old tutor, she just hadn't realized how long she had considered the Brunali ex-Borg as "cute".

Seeing him now, though, more than just fond memories of growing up with him on Voyager came to mind. 'Icheb! Since when did he have a last name? ...Hansen... Hansen... that rings a bell,' Naomi frowned to herself but was distracted as he walked to the middle of the front row, giving her a spectacular view of exactly how much he'd grown since she last saw him. 'Was he always this tall? He looks so...-' she blinked, unable to place words correctly, '-...grown up!' Naomi thought, gazing in astonishment at the once slim but now apparently broad-shouldered Brunali she had been friends with ten years ago. Even during that reunion he had been lanky. No doubt his term on his first ship since Voyager had forced him to _develop_ over the years.

'I wonder if he remembers me?' she thought, hoping in the back of her mind that he wouldn't consider her like his little sister or little friend anymore, little anything really. Naomi might have been in her late teens, but it was only in the chronological sense. In actuality, Naomi was far beyond in her 'years' though she had to relent to her mother's wishes to give herself a bit more time before she joined. In any case, Naomi hoped he would not still consider her the same as she was on Voyager. Blinking back to reality, Naomi smiled at the sound of his familiar soothing voice as he addressed the class.

Wait, soothing? What on Earth was she on? Naomi had always enjoyed the sound of his voice when he tutored her, it had a sort of rich tenor to it when he spoke in a low tone. Even when he had been in his teens his voice had been deep, specifically when he was speaking softly. Most of their lessons together had been with him sitting either in front of beside her, pointing something out or simply supervising her. When she was young, Naomi had never paid much attention to the _quality_ of his voice, focusing rather on what he was saying, but now? For some reason, the second he spoke in that familiar soft tone, she found herself captivated by it. Naomi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, hoping it wouldn't serve as a distraction to her. The last thing she needed was to fail the class because she was too wrapped up listening to him!

Brushing the obviously ridiculous thought from her mind, Naomi instead _focused_ on his _words_. "Good morning class," he began, looking all of his students over. "I look forward to getting to know all of you," Icheb said and glanced at the young woman with Ktarian features curiously before turning to set his instructional PADDS down. Recognition had stirred in him for a moment, but it couldn't possibly be who he though it was, could she?. 'If it _is_ her, she's grown far more than the last time I saw her... but it couldn't be, could it?' he thought with a frustrated inward frown.

Part of him hoped it wasn't who he was thinking of, hoped it was another Ktarian or half Ktarian that popped up now and then in Starfleet, because it if it _was_ her... that would mean he was in trouble. Something had tugged at him when he laid eyes on her elegant features. She had a certain attractive confidence, and intelligent way she carried herself, had a lithe frame, enhanced by a strong form accentuating her breathtaking figure, delicate facial features matured gracefully, not to mention strikingly silky looking red hair. It couldn't be her because he found this _student_ entirely too alluring, and as an instructor that was _bad news._

Icheb knew it wasn't ethical to focus on the attractiveness of his students, but something about her seemed to make his normally logical mind lose coherency a little. He shook the unproductive thoughts away, deciding to ignore the issue for the time being and picked the right PADD, giving the device direction to send his syllabus to the students' computers. A hand went up and he turned to the student, a young woman with dark eyes and caramel skin. Icheb regretted not studying the name charts before he started. "Yes cadet?" He asked settling for the easiest way of addressing her, resolving to learn their names later. Surely his precise and logically written introduction and expectations wouldn't be a cause for concern?

The young woman stood and smiled at her instructor. "Good morning, Sir. We were wondering… Is it true you were on Voyager?" She asked hopefully.

Ah, so it was one of _those_ questions.

Icheb smiled at the girl patiently and nodded. "Yes, that is correct," he answered curtly.

Naomi shifted in her seat, trying to hide her surprise. Not only did Icheb smile more than she had ever seen him do so on Voyager, but he was perfectly fine telling the class – who were _clearly_ about to explode with questions – that he was on the famous lost ship of the Federation. Would wonders ever cease?

The girl glanced at her class mates who gave her a look that let Icheb know there was more than one question. He had a feeling he knew the next question though. "Is it also true, Sir, that you were once _Borg_? I-I hope you don't mind me asking?" The cadet asked cautiously. "I mean- it's okay- you don't have to answer! I- we were wondering, it's just that um... I'll have a seat now..." the girl rushed to explain, flustered over her nerves and the peer pressure from her friends. Icheb set his PADD down and turned in her direction, giving her a Borg-like analytical scrutiny. The young woman squirmed under the intensity in his scrutiny and sat down with a whoosh of her uniform.

Icheb smiled apologetically before answering in a knowing manner. He knew it was cruel to subject her to his 'Borg glare' as it had become nicknamed during his time at the academy, but hopefully people wouldn't bring the subject up like this again now. Icheb didn't want to have to stop his lessons every other minute to answer irrelevant questions.

"It's quite alright Cadet. Yes, I was once part Borg, long ago, before I was rescued. Do not be afraid to speak up in my class… or let your peers pressure you to ask anything," he gave the other students a tolerant look before smiling at the poor girl reassuringly. She seemed to relax in her seat so he went on, returning to his instructional PADD and began his lesson, aware that his every move was followed by the eyes of the beautiful Ktarian girl. Icheb tried not to squirm like an adolescent, tried to pretend he had no idea who she was and didn't find her captivating.

Meanwhile, Kav'ain thought for a moment, having been mostly lost in thought after their professor confirmed having been a Borg once. He remembered hearing about Voyager and the crew who returned home. Among them was an Ensign Samantha Wildman, and she had a feeling his new friend was the Ensign's daughter. His curiosity got the best of him and he found himself tapping Naomi's shoulder. The girl turned slightly to give him her attention and a raised eyebrow. "Hey, your last name is Wildman right? As in Ensign Samantha Wildman?" The names of the Voyager crew were very well known throughout Starfleet and parts of the Federation. They had been on the minds and in the hearts of the people in the Alpha Quadrant since they disappeared.

Uh oh.

"My mother..." Naomi answered warily, sliding further into her seat. She had been hoping to avoid making a scene, not wanting to attract too much attention to herself, but it looked like it was unavoidable.

Kav'ain all but leaned over his desk and into her personal space. "So then... you were also on _Voyager_?" he asked in an excited whisper. Already people around them were starting to shift in their seats and lean in a little, obviously eavesdropping.

Naomi pressed her lips together tersely. She knew if she made the wrong move, said the wrong thing, this could get out of hand, so she simply nodded, hoping her new friend wouldn't make a big scene. Oh, how wrong she was.

Kav'ain sat back in astonishment. " _Really_?!" he said aloud, catching the attention of people nearby... including the curiosity of the professor, who paused in his lesson. "Whoa that's so awesome! You were on Voyager too! Wow!" he exclaimed loudly as the other students muttered in surprise. Naomi ducked her head bashfully and hid her face behind her data-pad childishly. Exactly the reaction she had been hoping to avoid, is what she got. That's when Naomi noticed that the revelation also caught up with their new instructor, who gazed at her in as much surprise as she had when she first saw him walk in. She looked up into his eyes and a look of knowing and understanding passed through them. Another look flickered through his eyes for a second, but it looked like worry... that couldn't be right, could it?

Naomi relaxed from the unnerving reaction when he smiled in that familiar little friendly yet also somehow impish way he had a few times on their old ship and cleared his throat. "Alright, settle down cadets," he said aloud, trying to reign in the excited students. "I have not dismissed class yet," he commanded, his eyes lingering on Naomi's a moment longer as the students sat back down and quieted before scanning the whole room again and continuing on his lesson. The rest of the class was spent with introductions into what the tall instructor would be teaching and his high expectations. "Please refrain from bringing up the topic of the Borg or Voyager again. We have a busy schedule to adhere to this semester with little time for impertinent subjects, alright? I may not be Borg anymore, but I still expect a semblance of perfection from each of you," he finished, relieved when his students seemed to relax and laugh at his joke good-naturedly.

After the class was over, Naomi lingered in her seat, watching her classmates gather their things and leave, chatting excitedly over how interesting this semester would be for them so far. She had intended on going as well, try to find her dorm and settle in, but the temptation to reunite properly with her old tutor was overwhelming. "Naomi?" Kav'ain probed curiously, wondering why she hadn't picked her things up to leave yet.

Naomi looked over to her new friend and smiled back. "You go on ahead, I wanted to-"

"Catch up with an old friend?" Kav'ain guessed, smiling back. "I understand. I'll see you around then, _Wildman_ ," he nudged her shoulder with his in a friendly way and nodded to his new professor on his way out. When the classroom was sufficiently vacated, Naomi stood with her things and walked up to her 'old friend', watching as he glanced through his PADDS.

Icheb sensed her approach and looked up at her, caught for a second at how elegant and self-assured her shapely legs carried her, then brutally forced the inappropriate thoughts from his mind. "Naomi Wildman," he greeted her with a surprisingly toothy grin. Leave it to Icheb to make Naomi feel both nostalgic in the way he said her first and last name, making it sound like just one name, and at the same time making her feel like she had 'assimilated butterflies' with a mere, though beautifully uncharacteristic smile.

"Icheb, it is such a surprise to see you here!" she smiled back.

Risking it, but at the same time not caring what others thought, Naomi placed her things on Icheb's desk and went around it to hug him. To her seemingly endless surprise, Icheb wrapped his long arms around her immediately, no trace of his awkwardness from ten years ago left. Her cheek pressed to Icheb's chest and Naomi suddenly felt that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. True that it wasn't strange for a student to hug a favorite teacher, it was slightly different for them. The instance they hugged, it was as though their immediate surroundings faded to white and they were the only people in the universe. That wasn't right though, was it? A simple hug between old friends shouldn't feel so... intense, should it? When Naomi pulled back, she saw the same look cross his features before he covered it with a strained smile. "It is good to see you again."

"Yeah..." Naomi frowned inwardly at the weirdness that suddenly rose up around them like a fog on a humid morning. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for either of them to hug in public after all, aside from the awkward reaction they had just then, their 'reunion' could attract unwanted attention as well. Hopefully whoever was coming in the classroom would just assume they were related or something... right, because they looked _so_ alike. Realizing they were still hugging, Naomi pulled away from him abruptly, missing the confused and slightly hurt look that flashed through his eyes as she straightened her uniform. "I hardly recognized you for a second," she began lamely. 'Well isn't this just great? The first few moments of our reunion and I'm already sounding like some dork,' she huffed inwardly, not a clue why she felt so flustered.

Icheb smiled at her kindly before speaking in a wistful sort of way. "Naomi Wildman," he repeated in a softer tone. "I..." he seemed to be at a loss for words for a second. "I did recognize you, but I thought I was imagining it," he explained.

Naomi tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Why's that?" she questioned.

"Because I had only the memory of you as a little girl," he answered quietly. Naomi had started to feel slightly annoyed at her concern over how he saw her becoming a reality, but the look he was giving her stopped it in its tracks. His unreadable gaze on her made her squirm slightly. "I see now that time has been very gracious to you. You've grown into a radiant young woman," he complimented, unaware of how much the simple input would affect her.

Naomi stared for a second at his bold statement and then promptly felt herself blush. Naomi cleared he throat awkwardly when she realized she had been practically gaping at him without having said anything. She kicked herself for stuttering as she answered back. "Thanks... Icheb," she tucked an errant lock of hair from her braid behind her ear and glanced at the students milling about anxiously. 'What is going on here? Cool your jets, Wildman, it's just Icheb,' she told herself, willing herself to calm down and be excited at seeing her old friend again.

Assuring herself that this was first day jitters and nothing more, she looked into his warm eyes once more. "You've grown up pretty well yourself," she answered with more confidence than she felt at the moment, and felt proud of herself for doing so. "I figured out who you were pretty quick though, your Borg implants are pretty hard to miss," she sent him one of her own grins.

Icheb snapped out of his less than helpful thoughts and nodded in agreement. "Yes, while the Doctor had perfected his methods in removing a lot of my implants safely, I decided it made me unique, at least around here. So I kept them. I suppose you could say, in an ironic way, it is a representation of my individuality," he explained. Icheb noticed Naomi's hesitation and for the life of him could not figure out what was wrong with the girl. Perhaps she was simply feeling the stress over her first day at the academy, or maybe a little overwhelmed by their sudden reunion. He hoped she would tell him if there was a problem, years apart be damned, they were still friends and he still cared a great deal for her.

"Oh! So you don't need to regenerate anymore?" Naomi asked, her weird nervousness seemingly fading away in favor of her nearly endless curiosity.

"I no longer need an alcove, however, I do use a modified regulating disk fashioned to my bed to help me manage the few implants I still have," he explained, and then raised an eyebrow when he realized he had missed the sound of the computer advising the cadets to head to their next class. 'How could I have lost concentration?' he wondered idly before pointing it out to Naomi. "I believe the second classes of the day are beginning. You should go if you don't want to be late," he advised softly.

Naomi nodded and grabbed her things. "You're right!"

"Naomi..." Icheb said, catching her attention again and once again surprising her by simply calling her by her first name. She had no idea why, but it pleased her to no end, hearing her name roll off his tongue in such an endearing way. "Perhaps we could meet tomorrow morning for breakfast? If you are willing, to 'catch up' as they say?"

Naomi frowned to herself and then thought about it. She would have to wake up much earlier than she planned on tomorrow, as she was already formulating a study plan for the semester and knew she would be up late. But... wouldn't meeting with her professor give her the advantage of getting in extra help ahead of her classmates? Maybe she could make a 'tradition' of this with him? If he were up to it. After all, he had been one of her main teachers back on Voyager, and she remembered them getting along famously, so it couldn't hurt, right?

Getting excited at the prospect Naomi nearly jumped up and down. "Yeah! That sounds like a great idea!" she grinned. "Would you be open to meeting regularly? It would be so wonderful to reinforce our friendship and maybe I can even help you with some grading and you can help me with some extra work?" she suggested, hoping to appeal to his logical side.

It took Icheb less than a second to respond. "That would be acceptable," he smiled back. "There is a local cafe walking distance from the campus. Your e-mail is with the rest of the students, I'll send you directions, okay?" When Naomi nodded excitedly he gestured for her to go on. He was the one surprised this time when Naomi gave him another brief hug around his middle before running off.

Icheb had to pause when she had hugged him quickly on her retreat and inwardly shook himself of the illogical way he was behaving. He brushed the strange absence he felt as she let him go from the _all-too quick_ embrace away and resumed looking over his PADD. Maybe he had missed her more than he thought? It had to be the explanation for his uncharacteristic emotional floundering. Funny that. Neither of them had had the chance to communicate with each other much, aside from a few letters now and then. They had been close on Voyager but had seemed to drift apart a little after.

Either way, something about this reunion told Icheb this was going to be a _long_ semester.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N** : I hope everyone liked this revision so far. Anyone notice his name? I have interesting plans. If you can guess correctly whose last name he took and possibly why, I'll give you a cookie! If anyone notices ANY typos, including words missing an R, like if I wrote "he" instead of "her" (my keyboard isn't cooperating lately) please let me know! As always, your input is greatly appreciated and helps me stay focused on updates! I may take a little bit to revise the next chapter, but be patient. It _will_ be before next week though, I promise. Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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After the very interesting morning, the surprise reunion with her old friend and the very puzzling strain between them, Naomi finally finished her last class for the day.

As she arrived to her dorm that late afternoon, she sighed in relief. It wasn't as though her other classes had stressed her, it was just that it was all a little overwhelming all at once. Not to mention the number of times she had gotten lost already. She had run through the halls at least twice looking for the freshmen wing, apologizing as she bumped into a few students on her way. At one point she collided with Kav'ain again, who laughed at the coincidence and mercifully directed her to the right path.

Once she got there, she nudged the door open carefully, finding that true to the helpful adviser's words, her things were sitting next to one of the vacant beds. She observed that the room was not empty and found the two girls sitting on one of the couches in the common area familiar. "Hello," she greeted them. They turned and smiled to her. One of them was holding a cup with something hot in it, steam rising from it steadily, and the other, had what Naomi could only describe as Vulcan characteristics. She had black hair, pointed brows, and even pointier ears. What she wasn't familiar with though was the cranial ridges over her brows.

"Hi!" They said happily and Naomi had to pause. The one that looked Vulcan seemed just as cheerful as the human who greeted her too.

"My name is-"

"Naomi Wildman, we heard our new professor say your name," the human girl grinned. "My name is Hannah Moore, nice to meet you!" she said excitedly, standing to give her a hug. Naomi tensed for a second, not used to such a friendly welcome, but relaxed and did her best to hug the girl back. This girl had a rich mahogany hair color and bright hazel, almost caramel eyes.

"My name is T'Chea, pronounces _T'Chee_ ," the Vulcan-like girl informed her, stressing her name. "We are both in the Astrometrics class with you, in case you're wondering why we look familiar. No, I'm a touch telepath, I can't read your mind without touching you, I just figured that's why you gave us that look of confusion," she smiled.

"Right..." Naomi's face contorted into confusion once more.

"I'm Romulan," T'Chea explained. "You're wondering why I don't keep my emotions in check. That's why."

Well that certainly explained why she had familiar facial features common to that race, though Naomi had been under the impression that most Romulans didn't want anything to do with Starfleet. Obviously T'Chea either came from a more open-minded family, or she was rebellious and ambitious enough to follow her own path. "You sure you're not reading my thoughts?" Naomi raised a skeptical brow.

"Yeah _Chea_ , even I'm a bit weirded-out," Hannah gave her friend a friendly smile as she sat back down.

"Honestly, I just get it a lot," T'Chea shrugged.

"I know what you mean, people have been mistaking me for a professor or senior. You don't know how many times I've had to explain my heritage to them," Naomi rolled her eyes.

"So..." Hannah grinned mischievously suddenly.

Naomi knew what the question was before she had to think about it. Of course they would ask this, they had both acknowledged being on the same ship, after all. "Yes, I know professor Icheb," she answered before the energetic girl could pounce, forgetting about his mysterious last name for a moment.

"Now who's the telepath? Where do you know him from? You two seemed kinda chummy after class," Hannah asked curiously, motioning Naomi to join them. It was then that the half-Ktarian realized she was still standing awkwardly at the entrance to the room. She shut the door, placed her belongings on her bed and sat down on the free couch. She kicked off her Starfleet issue boots and sighed contently.

"You all comfy now?" T'Chea teased.

"Yep," Naomi nodded, making herself at home and letting her eyes close, willing herself to relax from the hectic day and also from the slight, though natural, nervousness of meeting new people.

"So? Spill! How do you know our new and very attractive Astrometrics professor?" Hannah pressured. Naomi opened her eyes and peered over at her clearly eager new roommates and raised another brow. Honestly, sometimes she felt more Borg or Vulcan than Ktarian-Human hybrid. The girls were all but literally on the edge of their seats. Since they knew she had been on Voyager Naomi was more or less prepared for the onslaught of questions but sighed inwardly, not at all thrilled about getting into it again.

"Would you believe we grew up together?" Naomi began. T'Chea was the one to lift a skeptical eyebrow this time. "Well technically we sort of did. Icheb was a Borg when he was brought on Voyager. I don't know the specific details, only that he spent most of his life in a sort of room that matured children assimilated at a young age into fully adult Borg. They had rescued him before he would fully mature into a drone and de-assimilated him. I was only six years old at the time, and it was all sort of fuzzy. I had grown pretty attached to Seven of Nine, our other former-Borg resident aboard Voyager, who instructed me and then Icheb. There were a few other Borg children with him, but they didn't stay very long, all picked up by their families. Icheb was the only one to stay with us. Throughout the year we grew close. He was my tutor for biology and math, and Seven was our instructor on ...well, pretty much everything else.

"Biology?" Hannah grinned, leaning forward. T'Chea rolled her eyes and smacked her friend's arm.

Naomi didn't even bat an eye as she went on, getting into the story. She may had been tired of telling it, but it really was a story close to her heart. "It was mostly genetics really, since he had an aptitude for it, but when the doctor was busy he tutored me on what he could. Since we were the only children aboard the ship, we spent quite a lot of time together. Icheb was always striving to better himself, to learn all he could, and tried to integrate himself in the daily activities of the ship as much as possible. It sort of left me trailing behind him and looking over his shoulder while he worked. He didn't seem to mind so much, even tried teaching me the things he was learning. I might have been matured much more than the average human my age, but I gotta say, most of what he tried to teach me went right over my head." Naomi smiled fondly at the pleasant memories of the fun times together with him and Seven on Voyager.

Hannah and T'Chea glanced at each other knowingly. Oh yeah, this year was going to be very interesting for them with Naomi as their roommate and Icheb as their professor. "So, what was he like before? He's sort of a mystery to everyone," T'Chea explained, eager to hear more.

"Well, he was… well I don't really have a basis to compare him since we haven't really seen each other in a decade…" Naomi explained with an apologetic smile. The two girls seemed disappointed. She sat back and thought about it. "I suppose I can tell you what I remember though," she mentioned.

"Was he as concerned with "perfection" back when you knew him? Wait, that may be a dumb question?" Hannah said, leaning over to the coffee table before them to pick up what now looked like some sort of tea.

Naomi decided to answer that question anyway however. "Oh, he was _more_ concerned with it then, after all, the doctor had recently de-assimilated him. Having had the Borg ways drilled into him since he was assimilated as a child... probably literally...-" Naomi and the girls grimaced at the thought, "-he only knew what he was taught growing up, like most of us do as children. I would say he was naïve, but I'm not much one to speak, since I was only a child and naïve as well then," Naomi said and smiled at the flash-back of memories that suddenly hit her. "I mentioned he tutored me on genetics, one time we were putting together an educational jigsaw-puzzle and he tried to teach me to "recognize the complementary base pair" as he put it… but I was just putting the puzzle together by color and shape…" Naomi said chuckling. Naomi then noticed the knowing smiles from her roommates and gave them a wary look. "What?" she questioned slowly.

T'Chea rubbed her chin thoughtfully and arched an eyebrow. "Would I be far off if I guessed that you _like_ him?" T'Chea asked. Hannah leaned in closer in anticipation.

Naomi straightened, not exactly liking where the girl was going with that line of question and crossed her arms defiantly. "To answer your question, yes I like him."

" _Really_ now?" T'Chea grinned.

"Sure. So far I believe he will be a good professor and he was my friend- _is_ my friend," she corrected. "I have no reason to _dis_ like him," Naomi answered calmly with a shrug. Hannah almost fell off the couch from being on the edge from the disappointment.

T'Chea glanced at their clumsy friend and then back at Naomi; she would not let her off the hook so easily. "That is _not_ what I meant and you know it," she stated, crossing her own arms.

Naomi smirked and leaned back against her seat in a smug sort of way. "It's what you asked," she stated simply.

T'Chea's jaw tensed and she glared in a mock fashion while Hannah grinned childishly at T'Chea's expense. "I meant - do you _like him like him_ … as in crush like?" T'Chea asked.

Naomi smiled finally and shook her head. "I couldn't tell you. I've only just reunited with him after ten or so years. It's been a long time! Yeah, I'm not blind, he is attractive, always sort of thought so, but," she shrugged again. "I can't say I have a crush on him." Naomi certainly hoped that wasn't the case, things were a little strange between them that morning, but it could be that it was just strange to see each other as adults suddenly, nothing more. Surely they would eventually adjust to that, wouldn't they?

"Ah you're no fun," Hannah sighed, hoping for something juicier.

"Why don't we go to the mess-hall for some dinner?" T'Chea suggested. "If you're not too tired?"

"Sounds good to me," Naomi said while Hannah nodded. They gathered their keycards and left. Fortunately, as they walked the busy campus to the cafeteria, they kept their questions civil and friendly, asking Naomi about her parents, and about how she liked it on Earth so far. "Honestly," she told them, "I wasn't looking forward to Earth. I was born on Voyager, it was my home and all I knew. The closer we got, the more excited everyone was and the more isolated I felt."

"You and the professor?" Hannah suggested with a knowing smile.

"Yes-," Naomi relented, "-me and _the professor,_ " she rolled her eyes playfully. When they sat down, they continued chatting, talking about a bit of each of their backgrounds, their goals in the academy, their parents, whatever they could to make transitioning from strangers to friendly roommates easier. They were lost in their chat until Naomi felt like someone was staring at her and paused. Glancing around she didn't notice anyone looking her way though, making her frown thoughtfully.

"Professor hot-pants is looking your way," Hannah told her in a whisper teasingly.

"What?" Naomi resisted whipping her head around to see where he was, instead looking over to the direction Hannah gestured with a nod.

"Right, not crushing on him at all," T'Chea smirked.

" _Stop_ ," Naomi scolded softly and then caught Icheb's gaze. He was standing at the meal line with another professor, listening to what the older man was telling him and nodding every now and then. Naomi gave him a small smile when he noticed her looking his way and he smiled back, nodding at her before turning back to the professor who had been speaking with him.

"And _what_ was that?" T'Chea asked, her teasing smile returning ten-folds.

Naomi raised her brow. "I believe it's called a smile," she answered shortly; she liked her new friends but they were starting to annoy her a little. They were looking into this _way_ too deeply and it was frankly making her uncomfortable.

Thankfully Hannah seemed to notice Naomi's distress and came to the rescue. "Okay, okay, enough T'Chea. We're sorry we're being so pushy, Naomi. You're like a new toy to us but we may be wearing you out."

"Kind of," Naomi answered candidly. "I don't exactly like being attacked with questions of a personal nature with people I just met."

"We're very sorry," T'Chea said, her shoulders dropping slightly.

"It's just, I don't want to be identified as only a member of that famous ship and having some sort of unrealistic and honestly inappropriate _thing_ with our new professor. That's how rumors are started. I just want to fit in and relax as much as I can before all hell breaks loose, you know?" Naomi explained.

"We totally get it. We'll try to behave," Hannah nodded. "Don't worry, you can come to us whenever you feel the stress getting to you, okay?"

"Thanks. I appreciate that," Naomi nodded and stood from the table smiling at her new friends. They continued their meal and chatted a bit more for a little while longer before they day's events finally caught up to Naomi. "If you two don't mind I'm going to head back now. I guess I'm more tired than I thought," she said.

"I hope we didn't upset you?" T'Chea asked in a subdued tone.

"No, no, I really am just tired. I promise," Naomi tried to reassure them.

"In that case, we'll see you later," Hannah smiled.

As Naomi slowly made her way down a hurriedly memorized path to her dorm she felt a presence behind her and turned to see Icheb walking up to her. His wide strides from his long legs caught up with her smaller strides quickly, but Naomi stopped to let him catch up and smiled at him. "Prof-" she was stopped by a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Please, just Icheb, we aren't in class – you don't have to use honorifics," Icheb said in a soft tone. He stood before her in the mostly empty hall, his arms relaxed at his side.

Naomi smiled, nodding in understanding. "Nice to see you again, Icheb," she told him. "How'd your other classes go?" she asked, honestly curious over how he was doing an a professor. She had no idea he had taken a job teaching, as she had mentioned to him, it was surprising. She had expected him to be off doing dangerous covert-ops missions or whatever other ridiculously thing her still over-active imagination could come up with.

"They went well, thank you. And yourself? How has your first day gone?" He asked curiously.

"I never knew how much work this could be, and it's only the first day!" Naomi exclaimed, though not at all as troubled by it as she made herself sound.

Fortunately, Icheb caught on. "Yes, the first day can be tough," he said and smiled, nodding knowingly, placing his hands behind his back. Naomi remembered him doing so, many times before, only this time, he didn't seem to slouch like he had before, he stood straight, towering over her more than she remembered. "Even so, I expect you to be one of my top students," Icheb said half-serious, half-teasingly.

Naomi grinned and crossed her arms, prepared to fall back into the familiar playful kinship they had had on Voyager. "I suppose your lessons will be a bit more challenging than putting a puzzle together?" she asked just as teasingly. She jerked in surprise a little when he smiled slyly and leaned forward slightly, she could practically smell his aftershave as his lips twisted into a brilliant smile that made her wonder where it had come from, where he learned to smile like that. It occurred to Naomi then that Icheb seemed a _lot_ more relaxed than when she remembered. He seemed to have regained most of his individuality already. It made sense, him being younger when he was de-assimilated unlike Seven, it was only natural that he would adapt to society as rapidly as he seemed to have done.

"You would be correct Naomi Wildman," Icheb whispered playfully.

Naomi nudged away her reverie and smiled back just as playfully. "Don't worry Icheb, you can count on me," she told him seriously.

Icheb leaned in slightly more, making Naomi blink, feel like she should move away, but resisted doing so. If he was challenging her, she would not back down! No matter how cute he was or how good he smelled. Darn her sudden hypersensitive alertness for noticing, too. "I don't doubt it," he told her, once more using that soft tone. Was it her imagination, or were his eyes shining? He cleared his throat, and for a moment Naomi was all-but hypnotized by his throat working. She didn't notice Icheb lose control of his senses and look her over, marveling at how much she had grown. He knew once again that it was completely inappropriate to basically ogle his students, no matter their history together, but he was still very obviously a male, after all. To his dismay, Naomi's attention had returned quickly and she started in surprise at him. Naomi could have sworn he was checking her out, but that had to be her imagination, right?

Icheb straightened and smiled tensely, sensing something had changed. And it was probably his fault, too. "If you're good, maybe one day I'll tell you about my first experiences," he said as a weak joke.

"I'd like that," Naomi smiled back.

Icheb nodded and stepped back slightly. "I should let you go, it's late and you're probably tired." Icheb fought himself, wanting to stay and talk some more, but suddenly needing the solitude of his apartment.

Naomi frowned in confusion for a moment, not understanding why he suddenly seemed uncomfortable, but noticed he looked just about as tired as she felt. Maybe it was just fatigue from a long first day? She nodded in understanding, figuring that must be it. "Yeah, sure. G'night, Icheb," she said softly. Still, Naomi couldn't shake the feeling that something had just happened between them, but she couldn't place what it was.

"Goodnight, Ms. Wildman," he smiled gently before turning and leaving her feeling slightly at a loss. Why were things so weird between them now? It didn't make any sense! Shaking her head, Naomi continued on her way, reaching her room and unlocking it. She glanced around the room, taking stock of what she had to work with that year. Three beds on three corners of the room, a small kitchenette at the spare corner, an arrangement of couches in the middle of the room, and a couple doors. One door was probably the bathroom and the other was most likely a closet.

After familiarizing herself with the mysterious doors, what was in the cabinets, the entertainment center, and what she could work with to her advantage, she set out to unpack her things. She didn't have too much, trusting her father when he said Starfleet would provide all that she would need. She only had a few keep-sakes, her favorite Kadis-Kots board, her beloved Flotter doll she took everywhere – adulthood be damned – the brush Mizoty had left her before she went with Azan and Rebi to their home, a few other things, and her portable computer. It was then she noticed a message on her computer and sat down on her bed with it, opening it up. She smiled to herself, seeing that it was from Icheb. He had sent it an hour ago... had she really been that busy since she got back to the room?

" _Naomi Wildman,"_ the e-mail began and Naomi could practically hear the way Icheb habitually combined her two names in one through the message and smiled. It seemed to be a Borg trait, as none of the other crewmembers seemed to do that.

" _I hope this email finds you well and before your day starts again. I checked my schedule when I left you. I won't be free to convene every day this week, but every other day will work. Mondays and every other day after I will be busy. However, this Wednesday is the exception. I was to meet with a colleague but he couldn't make it and had to postpone. Lucky for us, hm?"_

Naomi leaned back on her bed and smiled fondly at the email. Lucky indeed! That just meant more time for them to get reacquainted!

" _I look forward to spending more time with you 'catching up' and reminiscing over old times. I hope our meetings will also have some productive outcomes, however. You asked if we could work together and I thought that was a clever idea. I know I'm not supposed to show favoritism, but who needs to know?"_

Naomi found herself laughing softly. Who knew Icheb had sense of humor? She remembered the many times he had tried to make a joke but not many people caught on. As a little girl, Naomi had found him funny, but mostly when he wasn't trying to be. She had to wonder if this was one of those cases? Maybe she'd get a chance to see if he had improved any this week.

" _I'll help you adjust to your first year as a Cadet, if you'll help me adjust to being a new teacher to so many students. Deal? This is my first year as a teacher since returning from my five year mission, so any input will be most welcome."_

Naomi was surprised, though she should have known. A little more than five years ago or so was when she first saw him and Tuvok talking about his impending mission.

" _Attached is the directions to the diner. I hope 07:00 hours is not too early? I looked forward to seeing you there, until then._

 _-Icheb."_

Naomi smiled once more, anticipating seeing him the next morning, and closed her computer. She leaned back against her bed, her thoughts on how nice it was to reunite with him, what a surprise it was to find him here too at the same time she started at the Academy. It was nice to know she would have an ally while there and hoped they'd get along as well as they had as kids. That thought in mind, Naomi fell asleep just like that, a content smile still lingering on her lips.

Elsewhere, Icheb sat at his computer at his apartment, staring at the email he had sent an hour ago, trying to identify the strange signals he had been getting from the young woman and how he seemed to react to her. No, that wasn't exactly right... _he_ seemed to be the one sending her signal, not her. Clearly his body knew more than his mind did about what was going on.

Icheb let a frustrated breath leave him, he wasn't blind, he knew why he was behaving this way. The first day of their reunion and he was acting like some teenager with a crush. He had even _told_ her that she had grown up beautifully. It wasn't like it was beyond protocol to compliment someone, but somehow the observation had been more than an innocent compliment between friends.

Icheb glared at his screen, struggling to come to terms with the fact that Naomi Wildman was no longer the little girl he had befriended, had tutored, and played Kadis-Kots with. No, she was his biological equal. Icheb knew about Ktarians and the half breeds produced between different species, having _assimilated_ the knowledge from his time at the maturation chamber... but he hadn't realized cute little Naomi would grow into a woman so quickly! Perhaps he should not try to treat her like the little Naomi Wildman he used to tutor, and instead treat her like the young woman who was entering a new and very adult phase in her life. But to do so might... complicate things.

One thing was for sure, things were _certainly_ going to be interesting.

 _TBC..._

* * *

Shout-Outs

 **Star Jelly:** Thank you, darl'n! Just wait until you see what I have written this time around!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Soft, irritated beeping tickled Naomi Wildman's ear that morning.

Just what on Earth was that annoying sound? Beeping? ...Phone? No, not that. ...Badge? No, she didn't have one yet. Wait, Com. Badge, that thought seemed to spark something in her for a second, but that's all she needed. Naomi woke up with a start, moving over to turn the alarm off, looking around. At first she was disorientated and didn't recognize where she was. This was certainly not her parents house... or the barracks she had been staying at for almost two months as a recruit.

That's right! She was a full-fledged Cadet now! She hoped the alarm wasn't loud enough to wake her new roommates, but as it happened, they were both dead asleep. They were probably worn out by the first day as well, which just made it easier for Naomi. Said girl stretched her arms out and arched her back, trying to rid herself of sleepiness and muscle aches. She knew she was much too young for aches and pains, but most people her age didn't put in as much physical effort to be considered eligible to join a military! Most had to wait another year unless they got their parents' consent. 'Two weeks after basic training and I'm still sore.'

Naomi groaned quietly in dismay when she assessed her situation, or rather, her state of dress. She had fallen asleep with her uniform on. She would have to hope she wasn't inspected by an officer or she could be in trouble! She remembered going through hell one day in basic training after she hadn't pressed her uniform to perfection, failing the surprise inspection. One of these days she would have to buy a sonic scrubber. Great for removing impossible stains and improvised ironing! ...And now she sounded like a commercial. It was _way_ too early.

Hopping off of her bed, she tried to remain as quiet as she could, rushing on her toes to the bathroom and quickly getting ready. She fussed over her tangled hair as she stripped for the shower. What she wouldn't give for a water shower to wake her up! She had had one or two before, when she visited Kathryn at her home in Indiana a few years ago. They had had one especially designed to offer both sonic and water options. Feeling the hot water on her skin was magnificent. She settled for what she had and hurriedly finished, hoping her roommates would not wake up and question her leaving so early in the morning. Once she was finished, she sighed in relief that the two girls were still asleep and got her things, eager to see her old friend. She flinch in preparation for the door to make a racket, but was again relieved that it did not. Sneaking out, she rushed out and breathed in the rich smell of the morning air. Oh she was still half asleep to be sure, but it was still kind of nice to be awake before most people.

As she walked the streets, glancing down at her PADD she had written the directions down on, she marveled at how quiet it was. This was probably one of the busiest cities in USA! It suited her just fine though, less chance someone from the Academy would spot her and question her out and about this early in the morning. When she made it to the cafe, she smiled at the retro circa 1950's design it had going. It was more like a small, sophisticated diner than anything else. Stepping inside, she found her "new" instructor seated in one of the booths facing the window. "Icheb?" she called to him, and watched him turn in his seat and smile.

"Good morning, Naomi Wildman" he smiled, standing to greet her.

"Icheb _Hansen_ , good morning yourself," Naomi grinned, walking over. "You have to tell me what's up with the last name..."

Icheb seemed to loom over everything in the cafe, being a good two or three inches over six feet tall. His height had been impressive as a teenager at his age, but then, Naomi had been a little girl so she might have been remembering their vast differences. Annoyingly enough though, that perception hadn't changed so much as Icheb was _still_ probably a foot or so taller than her. He still looked very much the same as he had though, barring in mind the sharper lines in his face, physical _development_ and less prominent nose ridge. It almost seemed like he grew into it? Maybe it was like bears grew into their ears? Brunali grew into their ridges? The result was that he looked... how could she put it? Fully formed? Complete? ...Attractive? Naomi shook her head of her silly thoughts as she reached him.

Apparently it was too early in the morning for _rational_ thoughts.

"Perhaps..." Icheb smiled lightly. He gestured for her to have a seat and then joined her, straightening his uniform and resting his hands on the table. "- _If_ you behave yourself," he added teasingly, unwilling to give away the 'secret' just yet, having fun with it all.

"Behave myself? Really Icheb, do you remember me _ever_ getting into trouble?" Naomi batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Is that a joke?" he laughed softly, making her smile. "I don't remember a time you _didn't_ get into trouble."

Naomi ducked her head down in playful bashfulness. "Hey... I was a curious child..." she muttered in mock offense, playing with the salt and paper shakers on the edge of the table.

The former Borg raised a disbelieving brow. " _Was_?"

"Well, _okay._ So I still can't keep my curiosity to myself," Naomi rolled her eyes. "Alright, keep your mysteries to yourself." They smiled at each other. "By the way, you don't have to stand to greet me you know."

"I was attempting to be a gentleman," Icheb's brow rose a second time.

"Thank you, but it's easier for both of us if we just act like Icheb and Naomi, right?" Naomi suggested.

Icheb titled his head to the side before nodding. "So back to how we were on Voyager then?"

Naomi leaned back in her seat and thought about it. "It would be easier, wouldn't it? I mean, you were practically my teacher back then, and my instructor now... so it would fit, wouldn't it?"

"True. However, we've both grown mentally and as people since then. Would it not be, as they say, 'awkward', between us?"

"I think you're making it awkward by just _asking_ if it would be awkward," Naomi laughed, shifting in her seat and feeling a little strange at where the topic was headed.

"Naomi Wildman..." Icheb sighed. "You continue to befuddle me, even now."

Naomi laughed again easily. "Befuddle? Really Icheb, I thought you would relax with your use of big words nowadays. I can't tell you how many times you confused the living daylights out of me whenever you tried to tutor me using big words."

"Yes, I remember, but hopefully you can capture what I'm trying to teach you _now._ Otherwise it will be difficult for you to go on in the class."

"Don't underestimate me. I may be into my late teenage years, but I can assure you that I can adapt to mental challenges far exceeding my age." She resisted smirking at his pensive, relenting stare.

Naomi 1, Icheb 0.

Icheb had come to terms with this the night before, but it was still surprising and a little troubling to him. "Naomi, you _have_ grown," he murmured quietly, giving her an unreadable look, his eyes searching hers as though he were looking for the little girl he had known long ago.

This drew Naomi's attention and she sobered from her amusement, sitting up straighter. Why did he look at her like that? To her surprise, the focused gaze on her made her heart race a little and had her squirming slightly when she realized it. But another thing caught her from his strange observation, he almost sounded sad. It broke her heart a little. "We _all_ grow, Icheb," she began gently. "That's part of life... I just got to grow past my awkward stages a bit faster than normal people did," she told him, smiling reassuringly. "I'm still Naomi Wildman though."

Icheb let out another breath and rubbed at the corner of the menu on the table idly. He needed to get ahold of himself. "Yes, but the Naomi Wildman I had been picturing was still wearing pigtails and running around causing mischief," the ex-Borg tried to smile playfully, hoping she wouldn't detect his odd behavior toward her. Still, he could not stop himself from complimenting her again, despite knowing he was just digging himself a bigger hole. "She wasn't this elegant young woman at the cusps of her prime seated before me."

Naomi on the other hand tried hard not to react to the compliment, telling herself that the increase in her heart rate was just early morning jitters. Instead she focused on humor, it always seemed to ease whatever unease she had been feeling. Not that it was uncomfortable to be compliment, it was still just... weird... hearing something like that coming from Icheb. "Well you know, I may not be wearing silly hairstyles anymore, but I'm still causing mischief..." she flicked her eyes at him, trying to break him out of whatever weird reflection she sensed he was in. "I mean, no, I don't _cause_ mischief! Certainly not me, I'm a perfectly responsible Cadet!" Naomi grinned, blinking in surprise when Icheb let out another soft laugh. While it wasn't unlike him to laugh, the frequency at which had had been doing so since she reunited with him was interesting. He had a very nice laugh. "So anyway, what is the plan for this class?" she asked, trying to distract herself.

Icheb relaxed a little. "Starfleet has taken a greater interest in Astrometrics with the few modifications I had discovered and implemented on Voyager. They asked me to teach what I had learned in the Delta Quadrant. My hope is that one day, when we are able to return, it will be that much easier to map out the rest of the galaxy," he explained, smiling when the waitress finally went over to them. The young girl apologized for being late to serves them and asked if they wanted complimentary coffee. They agreed and were served a fresh pot immediately. The two old friends sat in companionable silence for a moment, enjoying their fresh sugary coffee. "As I mentioned before," Icheb continued after a little bit, "I expect you to be one of my best students. I hope that isn't putting too much pressure on you."

Naomi shook her head as she prepared her coffee the way she wanted it. "No, it's alright. To be honest I have pretty high expectation for myself. I've always struggled to recognize my own abilities but when I realized I had the drive and aptitude to become an officer, I went for it. I decided early on that I didn't want to just be some assistant. I _will_ be Captain one day, and I _will_ eventually become a Fleet Admiral. I can promise you that I won't stop until I reach my goals," she said firmly, the fires of determination swirling in her eyes.

Icheb was caught by the intense look in her eye and felt unbelievably proud of her in that moment. With that kind of attitude she would go very far, very fast, and woe be it to anyone that got in her way. "I believe you," he said seriously. "Those are high ambitions," Icheb grinned easily. "I admire that in a student. No, I admire that in anyone really. The passion in your voice tells me you're exactly what Starfleet needs. I have the utmost confidence in your endeavors to reach your goals."

"Thank you, Icheb. It means a lot to me hearing that from you," Naomi responded softly, touched by his faith in her.

As they continued to talk about their expectations for their futures and careers, it became apparent that they, in fact, could _not_ fall back to how they behaved as children. They were both very obviously adults and their dynamics were clearly different now. Even so, they found that even though they were basically strangers now, it was amazingly easy to talk to each other, as though they hadn't been apart for ten years. They laughed easily with each other and told playful jokes. They ordered a light breakfast and ate happily, catching up on their recent accomplishments and discovering how much they had in common. They both desired more out of themselves, both strove to reach high positions in Starfleet, and both desired to unite the galaxy. Funny how two of the most unlikely former members of the famed lost ship would run into each other and both have nearly identical mindsets for the future.

Was it destiny?

Was it fate?

Was it a cosmic coincidence?

Neither of them really cared. All they knew was that they had found each other again and were going to make the most out of their re-budding friendship. Icheb checked the old-fashion clock on the wall and his brow rose. "If that device is correct I believe we have reached our limit. We need to head back before we both get into trouble," he mentioned. They tidied up and recovered their belongings. They made their way back quickly, not noticing the odd glances they got. An instructor and a student both making their way hurriedly down the hall. Fortunately, they were not as late as they assumed and slowed. Icheb went in first and found only half of the class was there. Naomi sat by Kav'ain, who had his head on the table. She poked at him a few times until he lifted it and smiled sleepily at her.

The class period went by pretty uneventfully. Unlike normal grade school, the students were all mostly responsible and studious, paying close attention to their instructor and taking in his unique methods and experiences in stride. Naomi found that if she listened close enough, she could hear his passion for space and his love for exploration. He was a brilliant instructor, explaining things in a way that challenged his students, but didn't make it so difficult that he had to stop every ten minutes to explain something. After class ended, the students left with optimistic prospects of passing the class, chatting happily with each other.

"Naomi!" T'Chea approached her new roommate and smiled. "We didn't see you this morning?"

Naomi had been preparing an excuse for her absence, she just hoped they bought it. "Yeah, I was up early exploring the campus and its surroundings. Did you know there's a shopping center close by? I may have to check it out some time, if you or Hannah want to join me." It was true, on her way to the diner she _had_ noticed a boutique close by and she _was_ interested in seeing what they offered.

"Yes, I knew about it," T'Chea nodded. "Not really my style but I'm sure Hannah wouldn't mind going."

"Sure! Just let me know when," Hannah smiled.

"I'll see you around, Wildman," Kav'ain interjected, giving her two roommates a fleeting smile before grabbing his things and leaving.

"I'll be off too," Hannah mentioned, glancing Kav'ain's way. Naomi's brow lifted in suspicion as Hannah left.

"Humans... or well, Humans and Bajorans I guess," T'Chea shrugged. "I'll see you later, Naomi," the Romulan nodded toward her professor and left after Hannah. Naomi shrugged and gathered her things. She stopped by Icheb's desk, where he was going over the subject for his next class.

Icheb looked up at her approach and smiled in greeting. "Naomi, I wanted to ask you something earlier but I forgot to," he began, glancing around to make sure his inappropriate use of her name casually wasn't overheard. While it wasn't exactly frowned upon for a teacher to be familiar with his students, he didn't want to remind anyone the fact that they were once aboard Voyager together. The use of her name as casually as he said it might make people wonder.

"What's that?" Naomi responded curiously, holding her PADD folded in her hands before her.

"I was wondering if you would like a tour of the campus after classes are over?" he asked inquisitively. Fortunately it seemed their schedule was more or less synchronized. Coincidence or not, it was convenient.

Naomi smiled to herself. Well imagine that, here was her chance to not make a liar of herself to T'Chea! Plus the added bonus of spending more time with Icheb. She wasn't blind to the fact that she obviously liked spending time with him. He was turning out to be as good a friend as she remembered him being. Maybe even more so. "That sounds like a great idea!" she nodded happily.

"Good," he smiled. "I'll see you at 17:00 hours at the courtyard?"

"Sounds good to me!" Naomi smiled back. "I'll see you later then!" she waved at him and left.

Classes could not have gone by quick enough for her, and Naomi had to stop and scold herself for being impatient. Naomi's classes were detrimental to her goals. She knew at some point there would be a Captain to Voyager, but so far not many people were willing to command the vessel, and Naomi couldn't understand why. So far as she knew, Voyager had been stripped and upgraded, refitted from a science vessel into a long-range deep-space cruiser. It was one of the smallest cruisers in Starfleet but the brass had decided such a hardy ship with such a hefty history would merit the change. Along with it's increase in advanced armaments, ablative armor enhancements, were a number of other greater improvements. A long-range tachyon scanner was added with components in the upgraded Astrometrics lab as well as deck by deck holo-emitters for the Doctor. Even the Doctor himself had been enhanced, his program expanded and given tactical subroutines. Naomi could not understand why none of the current Captains wanted to command such a state of the art ship, but it just made her goals that much easier to reach.

Finally, when all of her classes were over, Naomi stood in the courtyard, reviewing the assignments that would be due that Friday as she waited for Icheb. She smiled when she heard him call her by her first and last name and looked up to see him walking over. "It's about time, professor!" Naomi teased.

Icheb shook his head and lifted a brow. " _Patience_ is a _virtue_ , Ms. Wildman," was his playful reproof.

"So why don't we get this show on the road?" Naomi gestured for him to lead the way.

As they walked the campus, Icheb told Naomi to watch out for the groundskeeper, as he heard it he was very old and didn't take attitude from anyone, including officers and instructors. "I guess I _will_ have to behave then!" Naomi joked. "I'm still curious about that last name, after all." The walk was pleasant, made even more so as the grounds were beginning to thin from students eager to either go to parties or go back to their dorms to study. A shuttle flew over the campus just then, swinging in a low arc, no doubt showing it off to prospecting attendees or ambassadors interested in where Starfleet educated their future officers, either way, Naomi watched it fly over, feeling nostalgic once more.

If either of them had been paying attention to where they were going, they might have noticed the sign that said that part of the path was being repaired. "Oh!" Naomi gasped, her foot getting caught of broken walkway. Naomi cringed and readied herself to meet the concrete. However, before her body could fling itself to the hard ground, she felt herself held steadfast by Icheb as he quickly stepped in.

Icheb had heard her trip, heard the sharp intake of breath, saw her flinch at the corner of his eye and reacted before he could think. He spun around and his arms reached for her, bringing her flush against his body. Naomi had shot out to grip him for support, one arm circling his wide shoulders and the other resting on his arm firmly. Their position was all at once made aware to them and the sudden intense proximity was a surprise to both of them as they stared up at each other.

Neither were prepared for it and neither could get past how it felt to be held by each other. Icheb could feel the supple feminine curves of the woman in his arms, feel her heart beating rapidly with her pressed against him. He was surprised by the warmth that flooded him with her so close and wondered at his state of mind, surprised by how he was reacting toward his friend. He had noticed before how she had matured, but _now_ it was cemented unavoidably in his mind.

Naomi on the other hand could feel the heat of his strong body against hers, could see the intensity of his stare as his eyes bore down on her, both worry and confusion warring in them. She could smell his unique scent and feel the contours of his matured body. She felt Icheb shift, but had yet to release her for whatever reason. "Are you alright?" Icheb asked, his tone low and concerned, still holding her close.

Why hadn't he let go?

The awkwardness from the first day had return at full force. Naomi was the first to pull away, literally pushing him away at arms length, blushing and brushing non-existing dirt from her uniform. "Thank you, Icheb..." she said softly, unable to look at him, reflecting his earlier concerned for her own mental health. Since when did she feel the need to gawk stupidly and focus on the male anatomy? Since when did she find Icheb of all people so... disarming? So... captivating? Brushing her errant thoughts away, Naomi focused on the situation at hand. "I'm fine, thanks to you. If you weren't so... _enhanced-_ " she ventured to describe him, "-I would have had a very intimate introduction to the grounds of the Academy!" she joked weakly.

"It... wouldn't have been a very pleasant introduction, nor a pleasant way of ending our tour," he agreed. They stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. "Would you like to continue?" Icheb queried quietly.

"Ah- actually-" Naomi cleared her throat, ruling in her confusingly escalating bout of anxiety around her friend, and smiled tightly, "-it's getting late and I'm getting pretty tired."

"...Shall I walk you back to the dorms?" The ex-Borg Brunali asked, his tone still mildly subdued.

"No, no that's alright," Naomi shook her head, needing to get out of there and _fast_ , needing to clear her thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow though, okay?" she said fleetingly before all but turning and fleeing away. Icheb was left standing there for a second, shocked by the incident and stressed over the fact that she had felt amazing in his arms. This was bad, very distractingly bad! Her reaction to him had been very clear. He sighed out loud, overcome with worry, knowing nothing good could come of this.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N** : I didn't intend on updating so quickly, give everyone a chance to read and comment, but I guess I just got too excited! In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make Naomi and Icheb's reactions to each other a bit more gradual this time, though of course with obvious complications between them. This chapter wasn't even on my outline before I wrote it, so forgive me if it's a bit short. I was about to make the mistake of rushing things between them again. I'm glad I caught it in time and was able to write this. Hopefully no one minds a bit more character development.

Shout-Outs

 **MissSarahG1:** I'm very happy you're enjoying it so far!

 **QOP:** I know, right? Wait until you see just how much they are!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Naomi had spent most of that night tossing, frustratingly unable to fall asleep. Her mind tauntingly replayed the little trip she had, slightly dismayed by how girly and cliché it had all been.

Naomi should have known Icheb's reflexes would have been lightning quick, but she hadn't known he would pull her flush against his very adult and very developed body. She had growled to herself on her way back for reacting like a school girl, blushing and literally running away. This was _Icheb_ that had rescued her face from the concrete. Icheb! Simple, kind, naïve Icheb. No one to get flustered over, right? Really though, who was she kidding? Certainly not herself. If she were being honest with herself, she was well aware that Icheb had never been simple, he was more than just kind, selfless even, and by the way his eyes had seemed to know exactly how the position they found themselves in had effected her, it told her he was _not_ naïve.

Naomi was well aware that Icheb had matured just like she had. He had gone from the quiet, shy kid, struggling to find his independence among a starship of refined, self-assured people, to who he now was. Icheb had no doubt forced himself to emulate who he had been around until he found himself. Whatever experiences he had gotten in the alpha quadrant, on Earth, on his five year mission, had transformed him into the complex and frighteningly attractive individual he now was. Naomi could not let her thoughts of him cloud her though, she had too much she needed to focus on, too much to let herself notice him too deeply. Finally, after a half hour of recomposing her thoughts and clearing her mind, sleep took her, and thankfully, she slumbered peacefully.

The quiet alarm went off and Naomi woke up with a start the next morning, looking over to the other occupants of the room warily. As before, Hannah and T'Chea were still asleep. Hannah half way off her bed, mouth open a tiny bit... oh if Naomi was the type, she would take a picture and tease her with it. She was above that though. At least, that's what she told herself! T'Chea was asleep like those images of mummies she had shown Neelix on Voyager, on her back and her arms crossed. Even in her sleep T'Chea looked like she was superior to everyone. Naomi smiled fondly at her new friends and hopping off of bed, trying to remain as quiet as she could, rushing on her toes to the bathroom and quickly getting ready. She hurriedly finished, hoping her roommates would not wake up and question her leaving so early in the morning. She didn't want to have to explain why she was up so early to meet with Icheb, she hardly understood her excitement herself! Especially after the previous evening's 'event'. She knew logically that eventually one of these days they would catch her and she would have to come up with an excuse, but for now, it seemed like they were still asleep. Grinning at her luck, she grabbed her things and quietly slipped out of her dorm.

Walking out on her way to the cafe, her attention was caught by the sunrise. She paused to look at it, the cobalt blue sky bursting into flames by the intense red of the rising sun. Reds, oranges, and yellows exploded into fiery life, painting the heavens like a splash of living fire. The intensity of the sunrise was enough to render any viewer catatonic with awe. The fact that it rose above hills behind the pearly white crop of the Academy made it all the more majestic, giving the buildings a sort of halo and making Naomi imagine she was standing on Olympus with the Greek gods. Smiling to herself and her over-active imagination, that she _clearly_ still hadn't grown out of, she made her way off.

When she arrived at the cafe, she took a calming breath and made her way in. She saw that even Icheb was caught up in watching the sky. His visage was painted by the same fiery glow reflecting off the windows. She bit her lip, her now apparently susceptible mind open to seeing the man in a new light... literally, but imagining him with a Greek toga this early in the morning was _not_ a smart idea. Actually, it wasn't a smart idea _any_ time of the day! Brushing inappropriate thoughts away – or reluctantly tucking them away for later reflection at least, she made her way to the table he sat at. Naomi knew that things were now a bit weird between Icheb and herself, but she hoped it would go away soon. She tried not to think of how he looked at her, how he seemed to lean toward her when they spoke, how his eyes never left hers. What was going on? Icheb had never shown such... rapt focus on her when they were younger?

Fortunately, Icheb seemed to be as collected and relaxed as she remembered him being when he greeted her. "Naomi Wildman, good morning."

Naomi relaxed slightly, figuring if he could act like nothing happened- and nothing _did_ happen-, she could act like it as well, and sat down. "Good morning, Icheb _Hansen_! Did you see the sunrise?" she asked curiously, noting his direct gaze on her again. Naomi resisted fidgeting in her seat, playing idly with the objects on the table to distract herself.

Icheb was caught for a second when the reflection of the sun danced in Naomi's eyes, making them shine like gems, at the same time lighting her reddish hair on fire. He cleared his throat and dismissed the oddly pleasant use of imagery from his lately obviously irrational mind. "Yes, a spectacular event I have yet to get tired of," he smiled conservatively. He was entirely too distracted lately.

They paused when the waitress walked over and as before asked if they wanted some coffee. In the spirit of carrying on as friends, Icheb insisted on treating her, to not let their newly reacquainted friendship nor their little mishap stop them from enjoying their morning. Naomi was hard-pressed to reject his kindness, so she ordered a steaming cup of mocha latte and a plate of eggs with sausage. Icheb asked for his usual cup of coffee with eggs and toast. It was a quiet morning fortunately, no doubt students were still too worn out from their first couple days to drop in, leaving them more or less alone.

As they waited for their food, they fell into comfortable routine once more. They spoke of their lives so far, how Naomi reunited with her father and went on many trips with him and her mom to bond with him, how she did everything she could to prepare herself for Starfleet, and how she had the ambition of serving as Captain aboard Voyager one day. "I always wanted to be the Captain's assistant growing up," Naomi smiled wistfully, missing her ship and her old friends.

Icheb was caught by the intensity of her expression and could not stop his eyes from tracing the refined lines of her delicate face. "You'll make an amazing Captain one day, I'm sure of it," he said softly, reaching over to place a hand on Naomi's that rested on the table before he could stop himself. Icheb blinked in surprise, wondering what had suddenly come over him.

Naomi felt her heart speed up a little bit from the contact, images of being pressed against him flooding her vision unwittingly. Why would her mind chose to focus on those memories _now_? Sometimes she could swear her mind was working against her. Nevertheless, she was unwilling to think about what her reactions could mean, or why Icheb had felt the need to make physical contact. Of course, she knew that friends often offered physical support of that kind, but somehow it seemed different coming from Icheb. Something told her he wasn't the type to initiate physical contact without an express reason. She wouldn't complain though, if what she assumed he was doing was trying to soothe her, then she could handle it. After all, it worked in a way, she forgot all about missing her old home.

Icheb smiled fleetingly and pulled his hand away quickly then when the waitress returned with their drinks. What was he doing? They sat, sipping their drinks, in more or less companionable silence for a moment, both lost in thought. Icheb didn't understand what he was doing, or at least, refused to understand. Surely he had only intended on showing her his support, right? It didn't mean anything else, this was Naomi Wildman! Cute, little, innocent Naomi Wildman after all. No reason to feel differently about her, no reason to get distracted by her. Now if only he believed any of that.

The spontaneous physical contact had surprised Naomi probably more than what had happened last evening. Now that she thought of it though, this wasn't the first time she had such a strong reaction to him. She thought of how she responded to seeing him at the five year reunion and remembered that it was exactly the moment he had been preparing to go on his mission. His easy smile her way had made her heart speed up ever so slightly, though enough for her to notice and feel confused about at the time. "How was your five year journey?" She asked, suddenly very curious and needing to distract herself.

"It was uneventful, unfortunately," Icheb smiled lightly and sipped his coffee.

The half Ktarian frowned thoughtfully. "Unfortunately?" she questioned.

"Yes. All the excitement on Voyager has spoiled me I suppose," he shrugged. Naomi nodded in understanding, feeling the same. It was a common phenomenon that happened when people went on a journey filled with either exciting activities, or tense situations. When you returned home, to a normal life, life just seemed dull in comparison.

"Well, hopefully nothing _too_ exciting happens in the future, right? Like an epidemic or a war or something," she grimaced, hoping she hadn't jinxed it.

"Unlikely," Icheb shrugged. "But always a possibility." He explained to her how Seven and Tuvok were a huge help to him, preparing him for the academy and letting him know the 'life-hacks' of getting along with humans. Icheb had found that if he just agreed with most of what they said, they wouldn't think too much of him if he were confused. He could then later ask to clarify what they meant in a more relaxed environment. It had saved him quite a few times. Naomi had been very curious about how he and Seven had seemed to spend a lot of time together, so Icheb decided to finally reveal his little secret – if you could call it that.

"She _adopted_ you?" Naomi's jaw dropped slightly.

"Is it so surprising? She was practically my mother-figure on Voyager."

"Yes, granted, but one thing is being _like_ a mother to you, it's quite another actually _being_ a mother!" Naomi was _far_ from upset, she was actually thrilled that Seven and Icheb at least had each other among strangers, and Icheb explained how precise her line of thinking was. "So _that's_ why your last name is Hansen! As in _Annika_ Hansen!"

"Yes. It was more of a convenience than anything else. Seven _is_ like a mother to me, always sort of was. We've grown pretty close and she has supported and mentored me like any parent would... much more than my _real_ parents ever did," Icheb paused to scoff softly. Naomi gave him a sympathetic smile and the ex-Borg shook his head. "It's fine. I forgave them a long time ago," he shrugged. "In any case, not only would it have made staying on a strange planet, surrounded by billions of strangers unlike us easier, but it would also make it much more practical registering to important thinks like Starfleet, since I wasn't considered an adult at the time and could not do so myself."

Naomi pushed her empty plate aside and folded her hands before her on the table. "Yeah, that was one of my main struggles growing up here. They thought that _just_ because I was alive for _only_ fourteen years, I couldn't join in adult things," she rolled her eyes.

"You probably wanted to join at the same time I did though, you might have looked older than you were, but you still had a lot to learn," Icheb reflected with a friendly smile.

"Hey, I knew just as much as teens your age, _and_ at twelve." It was her turn to scoff, but she wasn't really upset.

"I bet you thought the same at seven though, didn't you? Wanting to be the Captain's assistant and all," his lips quirked up.

"So I was _a little_ ahead of myself," Naomi grinned.

"Clearly! I remember a shuttle ride we took with Seven and how you wanted to be Captain and ordered everyone around," Icheb chuckled fondly. "What is it?" he asked with a raised brow when she stared at him. She had been leaning on her palm over the table, giving him this unreadable look.

Naomi reflected for a moment before shrugging. "Nothing, it's just surprising is all," she explained.

"What is?" Icheb turned his head slightly in question.

"How much you've changed since I knew you."

"Naomi... it's been ten years..." he said in mock exasperation.

Naomi resisted reacting to his use of just her first name in the manner he had. The way he did it in that soft way he had been doing recently was enough to give her pause. It almost sounded like he was calling her by a pet-name rather than her actual name. She shook her head and smiled. "You weren't exactly the easiest person to joke around or relate with as I recall hearing a few times."

"I was aware, which is why I took extra measures to learn all I could when we arrived. I was forced to, as Tom had put it, 'loosen up' while a student at the Academy."

"Loosen up? You? Hah!" Naomi joked.

"What? You don't believe I have?" Icheb questioned, though he didn't think she really doubted him.

"Hm, maybe you have... but why not prove it?" She teased innocently.

"Naomi, if I were to prove to you how _loose_ I have gotten, our capacity as student and instructor would become compromised and inappropriate..." he said in a low tone. Naomi jerked in surprise by his candor, unbelieving that he would make a joke heavy with innuendo. Somehow, coming from him made it that much worse. "Forgive me, in my efforts to make a joke I may have made it inappropriate in itself."

Naomi shook her head quickly, dismissing his apology. "No! It's okay! I found it... refreshing," she told him, though she wasn't being completely honest. She couldn't let him know that the word choice was off. Frankly, the words that sprang to her mind alarmed her a little. Alluring? Thrilling? Enticing? Lately they seemed to fit what she thought of his boldness a lot better. But this was still _Icheb_ for crying out loud. Since when had she ever thought of him like _that?_ Besides, fat chance she would let _him_ know that she thought anything remotely close to those descriptions!

No need to make things even _more_ awkward between them.

"I see." Icheb seemed to be resisting the need to fidget, and Naomi was surprised by this. Had he always seemed as nervous as he was now? She hadn't noticed before, but it was pretty obvious now. And _really_ , it had been a never-ending ride of surprises since she got here, hadn't it? "We should head back," Icheb said quietly, as though he did not want to dispel whatever moment had passed between them.

Naomi nodded and let him take care of the charge, promising that next time it was her treat, and left with him. She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced up at the tall Brunali, trying to get back to the relaxing tone they had been having before it got weird again. "So um, Icheb, I wanted to ask you, you mentioned before that you needed help adjusting to your new position as a teacher. Is this really your first year as a teacher?"

"Yes. I left on my five-year deep-space mission precisely five years, two weeks ago. I was offered this position as a temporarily Astrometrics teacher for the duration of my wait."

Naomi tilted he head to the side in confusion. "Your wait?"

Icheb nodded. "I intend on going back for another term," he said simply.

"Really? You'd go out there for another five years? That's almost as long as Voyager had been lost!"

"What can I say? My love of the stars runs deep," he smiled.

"It sounds like any woman that manages to catch your eye will have to fight the stars for you love," Naomi teased, making Icheb laugh out loud. Her eyes softened at the sound, loving the rich sound of it a little too much for her own good.

Before either of them could react, a sudden downpour swept over them, drenching them. They laughed as they ran for cover, heading back to the academy, dodging students unlucky enough to be caught in the rain along with them. When they reached the safe haven of the academy, they paused to catch their breaths. "Well that was fun!" Naomi panted and glanced up at her friend. Her mouth hung open slightly when she caught him pulling his outer uniform jacket off to try and shake some of the rain off of it. If she had thought he was broad-shouldered before, she was _not_ prepared to see his soaked _white_ undershirt displaying his _sculpted_ figure. He wasn't a mass of muscle by any standard, but his physique could very easily be described as "Beautiful..." Naomi muttered under her breath.

"What is?" Icheb asked, unaware that Naomi hadn't meant him to hear. His Borg-enhanced hearing often let him hear things he hadn't meant to hear... often times to his despair.

"Uh- the... sun reflecting off the rain droplets on the window," Naomi quickly fibbed, hoping it was convincing enough. It really was a beautiful sight, but she had _not_ been paying attention to the window. Icheb put his uniform back on and glanced at the window, running his hand through his now messy hair to get the water from bothering his eyes. Naomi caught the motion and clenched her jaw tightly to keep from outwardly reacting. The rain made his hair appear spiked while the water and reflection of the sun seemed to make his skin glisten beguilingly. 'Oh Lord, what is wrong with me?' She thought in distress, quickly looking way.

Icheb caught the movement and noticed at the last second that she had... been looking at him... intensely. He frowned in confusion but then something caught his attention. "Naomi? Are you alright? You seem a bit... or _very_ flushed," Icheb asked, leaning in to inspect her better. It almost looked like...

Naomi jerked away and plastered on a smile. "I'm perfect, just a bit winded from the jog," she explained lamely, aware of the odd looks they were already receiving from people passing by them.

"That was not a long enough run for your features to be turning that shade of purple..." Icheb frowned in concern. He had remembered studying the backgrounds of each member of Voyager and recalled reading a bit on Ktarian reactions to intense stress or emotion. He had wanted to know about it when Naomi had reacted violently to a rather troubling and frightening situation on the ship. The reaction she was having was _not_ from fatigue, it was emotional and he couldn't begin to understand who or what made her color that way. He looked around but didn't see anything unusual.

Naomi cursed her heritage for causing her trouble. "I'm fine," she dismissed. The last thing she wanted was for Icheb to know that she found him frighteningly attractive. Oh no... she really _did_ find him _that_ attractive! Were T'Chea and Hannah right? Could she possibly have a crush on _Icheb_ of all people? "No," she said aloud, shaking her head. Finding her former tutor cute was one thing, Naomi could handle that, but suddenly finding him grown up and _hot_ was an entirely different thing altogether! She wasn't stupid, she was well aware that they were _both_ adults now, but at the moment it was too much to handle. If she continued to think that way about him, it would completely ruin the firm focus she was striving for as a Cadet.

"No?" Icheb was now truly confused.

'Oh right, I said that out loud,' Naomi groaned inwardly, feeling exasperated at her own reactions to him. "I mean, no I'm fine, really. Don't worry about it, please," she smiled again and tried to go on ahead to class quickly. The faster she got there, the sooner she could relax and clear her mind. Naomi should have known that Icheb would have senses something off, knew his senses were sharper than normal people.

That being case, Icheb was having none of it. "Hold on a moment! Why do I have difficulty believing you?" Icheb questioned her, surprised when she nearly jerked her arm out of his grip when he tried to stall her retreat. Why was he being so pushy? Naomi knew reacting that way was a bad idea, jerking away like that only added fuel to the fire, but she was starting to get frustrated with this situation. "Something _is_ wrong!"

" _Professor Hansen_ , we're going to be late for class. It won't be proper for the instructor to be late, now would it?" Naomi countered, hoping this would put an end to this conversation.

"...Agreed. But you're not 'off the hook' yet, Naomi Wildman. As your friend I feel it is my duty to make sure you are well." Before Naomi could respond, Icheb turned and walked off, not letting her continue to argue with him.

Naomi sighed, having figured he was still every bit as stubborn as she remembered him being. "What has _myself_ gotten _myself_ into?" she murmured to herself, referring to her natural physical state to... stimulating sights. Damn her and her stupid reactions to him. Damn him for being so... 'Ugh, this is ridiculous,' Naomi frowned to herself and trudged on, following him to class. Naomi settled in and ignored the questioning looks from her friends, shaking her head and focusing on the lesson. Or at least, trying to. Icheb was stubbornly avoiding looking at her. His determination was legendary and she knew if he really wanted to know something, he would find a way to figure it out. She sunk in her seat and sighed.

"You okay?" Kav'ain asked in concern.

"Yeah, just tired... it's been a long morning," she explained with a dismissive shrug. Morning, mornings, week so far really.

Naomi refused to believe her responses to Icheb were anything more than intrigue over the newly reforming friendship, disbelief that he would have changed so much, and surprise at odd 'events' that transpired between them. Naomi could admit he was very nice to look at and completely sweet, but that's as far as she could let her thoughts of him go, she had too much at stake to let her attraction to him distract her. Settling in, she resolved to focus on her studies.

The class went by without a hitch and Naomi was almost free from his _interrogations_ when his voice halted her steps. "Naomi Wildman," he began, making sure to wait a little while the last few students ran out. "If... you're feeling up to it, tomorrow morning is another free morning," Icheb reminded her carefully.

Naomi turned and leveled him with a skeptical eye. Was he going to try to figure out 'what was wrong' with her? "...So long as you don't get pushy..." she told him warily.

Icheb smiled and placed his hands behind him. "I can't promise you anything. However, I did have a few concerns I neglected to ask you about this morning. I find it that speaking with someone personally is far more rewarding than over a machine, wouldn't you agree?"

Naomi sighed inwardly. Ah, so he knew her well enough already that she was going to suggest email. It wasn't like she was trying to avoid him, not at all, she enjoyed these morning meetings and was honestly looking forward to spending more time with him... as long as he wasn't being nosy and obstinate. "Yes... I agree," Naomi smiled then. She really did like being around him, always had, and really couldn't say no to him. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she waved fleetingly and ran off.

That night, Naomi tossed in bed once again, having a reflection very similar to what Icheb had the previous night, that maybe it was time to stop thinking about him as her dorky tutor, and start thinking of him as a man with all his faculties in order, and her instructor at the academy. She couldn't afford to lose her head over him, her plans and dreams were far too big to let ...whatever it was going on, get in the way. She was going to be a Captain one day. Naomi didn't know if she would be Voyager's new Captain, but it didn't stop her dream of working on the bridge.

Meanwhile, Icheb read over his plans for the class and worked on his assignment he would give everyone at the end of the week. However, his _concern_ for his friend, and for his own impulsive actions around her, how he seemed to slack in logical practicality around her, was distracting him from his work. Since when did he let some _girl_ distract him? Especially old little friends. Icheb sighed, knowing that wasn't true at all. She wasn't just some girl and certainly not little.

Rubbing his hand over his head, Icheb couldn't get her violent reaction from earlier out of his mind. Ktarians only turned a shade of purple around their ridges or directly on their horns when they were in an extreme emotional state. Anything from anger, fear, or pleasure, could set it off potentially, but it had to be a strong enough feeling. Icheb wasn't sure if it worked the same way for half Ktarians, but from his experiences in the past and the occurrence earlier it suggested that she obviously had the same physiological trait. Naomi had not turned exactly purple, but a deep enough red on her cheeks and over her horns to make it noteworthy.

What could have set off such an emotional response? She hadn't been angry at the time, or afraid. He had heard her heart beating a bit quick from their little run, but not enough for the excuse she gave. So what was it? And why was he suddenly so obsessed with it? Setting his PADD aside, Icheb leaned back in his seat and thought back. They had been laughing and having a good time, he hadn't detected anything that could have suddenly caused her to 'freak out'. She had responded that way when he had removed the outer layer of his wet...

Oh.

Icheb felt himself blush, feeling stupid for not realizing it sooner. He wasn't as dense as people thought, he knew what would happen if you got a white piece of clothing wet, and was aware of his physical improvements since he was an adolescent. He knew lot of women found him attractive, had noticed them noticing him very often since his arrival to Earth, even when he had been skin and bones. But...from Naomi? No, surely _she_ hadn't found _him_... but then, she _had_ been staring at him. Naomi had never shown signs that she had felt anything more than sisterly affection toward him before, at least, not that he could recall.

To reiterate, at least to himself, he wasn't quite as ignorant or naïve as he had been in the past, having had a few tentative relationships since his time in the Alpha Quadrant to boot.

The only way to be sure, however, was to get the information directly from her own delicate lips. Icheb flushed again, blinking away images of the foam from her coffee that morning lingering on her soft lips, before she swept it away with her tongue. It had been a lapse in his concentration and a fleeting glance, eternally grateful to the heavens that she hadn't noticed.

Icheb pushed his work away, clearly not in the state of mind to be reviewing them at the moment. Why could he not banish her from his thoughts? He hadn't thought of her this way before... then again, back then they had both been children. Unfortunately, their circumstances were very different now. Not that he could do anything about it as an instructor. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to force the pleasant memory of feeling her against him during their tour away, but his mind was being cruel to him.

Perhaps a good nights rest would help clear his thoughts.

He hoped.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N** : I planned this chapter to go differently, but I accidentally lost the outline I wrote for it so I had to start over. It's not so bad I think, let me know what you thought!

Shout Outs

 **Star Jelly:** Thank you for noticing that! One of the main things I tried to improve on is Icheb's point of view during it all. He's still a little dense, not having had the normal puberty phases people had since being in a maturation chamber, but still able to understand things much more than before and not be blind to beautiful (people) things. I'm glad my improvements show, I'm very excited about how I'm molding the story and eagerly await your reaction to what else I've improved.

 **QOP:** Patience my friend, patience! It's much too soon for that. They've barely just found each other again!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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It was Thursday, and the third and last time that week she would once again be at a risk from her over eager roommates to prepare for her meeting with Icheb. Luckily, Naomi could sleep in tomorrow if she so chose to... though now that she was getting used to getting up that early, it might cause more harm than good if she suddenly stopped getting up early. Resigned to her fate, she went through her meticulous morning ritual and once more crept out of her dorm.

Somehow, after how weird it had been between them from the start of that week, Naomi felt like she should have hesitated leaving, and yet, there she was, still very much looking forward to seeing him again. She thought, as she made her way through the campus, of how they introduced each other. This was a reflection she had been making quite often, but it still puzzled her. Why did a simple hug between them feel so impossibly different this time around? And then seemingly innocent circumstances between them had been far more stimulating than they should have been. Naomi knew Icheb was still wondering why she had reacted so strongly to him the other day, but honestly she was trying to figure it out herself. It wasn't just that she found him very attractive, somehow it was more than that.

As she snuck out of the academy and down the streets on the familiar path, another thought occurred to her and she had to roll her eyes. This was starting to feel like some forbidden _rendezvous._ 'I really _do_ have an over-active imagination...' Naomi scolded herself, though still slightly amused by her reflection. It was ridiculous to think of it that way. They weren't meeting as starcrossed lovers, their romance forbidden because of the positions they held! They were meeting as old chums, catching up and seeing how their dynamics have changed over the years, nothing more. Still, it was pretty funny if she really thought about it, though that could have been her still half-asleep fuzzy state of mind. No need to have such thoughts when she was trying to _focus_ though.

The sky was downcast this time, no doubt a remnant from yesterday's sudden gray weather. She found Icheb seated at the same spot and went over to him. "Morning, Professor," she greeted with a tentative grin. They weren't completely alone at the diner that morning, though hopefully their meeting wouldn't seem too out of ordinary. Quite a few students met with their instructors for extra help, so this wasn't something that would attract attention.

Icheb raised a brow, wondering why she was being so formal. He then noticed the few students and professors quietly studying or having breakfast in a few corners of the café. How had he missed them? Clearly he hadn't been able to regain his senses quite yet. "Cadet Wildman," he greeted back, gesturing for her to sit.

Naomi hesitated before sitting. "You... mentioned you needed help with something yesterday?" she asked curiously once she was settled. So much for focusing. Alright, plan B! Pretending Icheb was the same scrawny, awkward, and naïve sixteen year old he had been on Voyager... or had it been fifteen? Icheb had looked so small in comparison to now that it was hard to remember sometimes.

Icheb thought about his question to her. While it wasn't a complete mystery, he was more curious to her reaction to his tale than her actual answer. He _was_ a bit confused by the implications of the event, not having had _that type_ of people approach him before until pretty recently. "Yes. A strange event to be sure. I have my theories as to why this may have happened, and I hope I'm wrong about it. Perhaps you can help me with something in a more linguistic capacity that has been happening to me a few times since our arrival on Earth?"

Alright, that sounded simple enough, Naomi could handle this. "Shoot."

Was she upset? "Pardon?" he questioned her. Wasn't that word often used instead of a more colorful curse?

Naomi smiled fondly, maybe he _wasn't_ completely caught up after all. "It means go on."

"Ah, right, yes," Icheb fought off a frustrating blush of embarrassment, he _knew_ that. Now he was just being an idiot. Recovering, he went on. "Many times recently I have had women of various ages... and states of dress... approach me and ask me to _assimilate_ their _bodies_ or for them to join my collective 'in more ways than one'." Icheb paused when Naomi choked. "Are you alright?" If his idea to what it could all mean was right, then her reaction was certainly interesting.

"Yeah, yes, I'm fine. Go on," she said with a blush of her own. Was he joking? How could he possibly miss what those women meant by that? Surely he wasn't _that_ dense!

Deciding he may as well go on with it, he finished telling her his 'problem'. "I try to tell them I am no longer Borg but they just laugh... before they realize I'm being serious, then look uncomfortable, apologize and leave. It's pretty unsettling." Naomi was staring at him incredulously. "Care to tell me what you think about it?"

Naomi shook her head in disbelief, though she wasn't really all that surprised he was still innocent when it came to women, at least _that_ type. "Icheb, you were being _propositioned_..." she informed him gently, trying not to all but laugh in his face, but really, it _was_ kind of funny. Icheb looked almost defeated, embarrassed. Honestly though, she completely understood why he would react the way he did, even if he _had_ had experiences before. Those women were vulgar in their come-ons. Poor Icheb was just too handsome for his own good.

Ah, so he was right. Icheb should have known those women were trying to seduce him. "Ohh... right," he sighed. Part of him had known what it was, but hoped he was misunderstanding them somehow. When he was younger he hadn't had that problem, mostly because people had thought he was too distant, too Borg, and stayed away. It wasn't until he started to relax and _adapt_ to society that people started being friendlier, and girls started showing their interest in him. At first he hadn't known how to react to them.

Icheb thought of his brief experiences with Eshe at the academy; she had unintentionally taught him how to interact with people better. Eshe had also been the first one to introduce him to the more physical aspects of being romantically involved, to her great amusement and his embarrassment. Fortunately she had taken pity on him and set off to _teach_ him. When they hadn't worked out together in the end, they remained friends in the academy but drifted apart later. Afterwards, he had a few other relationships, but they all seemed to be proper ladies, none of them as aggressive as those who _approached_ him.

Naomi titled her head to the side in question. "You know what that means?" She asked this in surprise, not because she doubted him having the experience of a relationship, but surprised by how quickly he caught on.

Icheb shifted uncomfortably. "What?" he questioned.

"Being _propositioned_ ," she clarified carefully.

Icheb's eyebrow lifted. " _Naomi Wildman_ ," he stressed. "I have said it before and it seemed that I'll have to say it again. While sometimes it may not seem like it, I _have_ been living here for 10 years, and I _am_ a man," he said a bit dryly, giving her a look.

Oh, so his sarcastic side was still there! How fun, she could work with this. "So you know what that means then?" Naomi pressed again with a playful grin.

" _Yes_ , Naomi, I know what that means," he shook his head, but still smiled at her patiently. "It's just, sometimes they can be... crude, confusing even," he shrugged.

Naomi smiled again, relaxing once more. This was more like it. Relaxed, playful, joking around like old _old_ times. "I'm sorry for doubting you, but it certainly sounded like you wouldn't have had a clue. Also, Icheb, women are confusing as a _whole_ , you should know that better than most," she grinned mischievously.

Icheb sat back and once more raised his brow. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Tom told me about the time you thought B'elanna was _into you_ ," she began, watching with interest as Icheb's eyes widened a fraction. "He told me how you _broke up_ with her, thinking she was coming on to you and you thought that Tom had challenged you for the right as her mate," Naomi chuckled softly. Tom Paris had found out not long after the incident and thought it was hilarious. B'elana was quick to set her husband straight, but it had only been a matter of time before Tom's amusement slipped. He hadn't intentionally meant to tell Naomi that bit, but when she had at one point asked B'elana about boy troubles when she was younger, Tom had heard and teased his wife over her _experience_.

Icheb seemed to sink in his seat. "You _know_ about that?" How embarrassing, that wasn't exactly a memory he liked to think back on. Back then he was naïve and jumpy at pretty much everything.

Naomi shrugged. "I'm resourceful."

"Evidently," Icheb smirked, relaxing when it seemed like Naomi wasn't going to continue to poke fun at him.

"Icheb," Naomi said soberly, giving him a calculated look. "I heard about your initial moments as a Borg a while ago, and I wanted to ask. Did you ask me to advise you because you feel you won't be able to control people without the help?"

Icheb shouldn't have been surprised by how adept Naomi Wildman was at reading people. Truthfully, it was his initial fear when he started at the Academy, but he hadn't thought of it in a while now. "Honestly, no, not as much as I thought," he told her. "Some things still perplex me, and sometimes a lot of people around me can get a little overwhelming, but..." he trailed off. "I guess you could say my first years at the academy sort of cured me from that."

"What was it like?" Naomi leaned in, resting her chin on her palms. She was loath to deny her recent discovery of her fascination with his voice. When he wasn't being technical and droning on over minute details, he really did have a soothing voice.

"To be honest, if it hadn't been for Q-Junior, I would have gotten into a lot of embarrassing situations," he smiled fondly. His smile slipped slightly when an audible POP was heard behind their table. Naomi blinked in surprise to see a strange boy appear literally out of nowhere.

"Someone call me?" Q2 grinned boyishly. "Whoa, what happened to _you_? You got so... adult!"

Naomi grinned, that was her initial thought of him too!

"People grow," Icheb responded tightly.

"Yeah but last time I saw you, Ichy, you were struggling to just get by on this planet," Q2 grinned.

"...Ichy?" Naomi questioned in surprised amusement.

Icheb _actually_ _blushed_. Interesting. "...Q... what did I tell you about that nickname?" the ex-Borg all but growled. Naomi was beside herself with surprise. She had heard stories of this young Q's people 'terrorizing' their 'friends', but it was quite another thing witnessing it first hand, and on top of that riling up her normally reserved friend!

"Q's my fathers name," Q2 pulled a face.

" _Ichy_?" Naomi grinned again, favoring her amusement rather than increasing shock over Icheb's out of character behavior.

"Besides, there are no officers around here! Not unless the lovely Naomi Wildman is hiding something from you... well, aside from _that,_ " Q2 smirked mischievously. Naomi's amusement suddenly vanished and she tried to appear confused, though she kind of was anyway, but Icheb caught her sudden switch and frowned with suspicion once more, his earlier contemplation over her reactions returning to his mind. "And my goodness you _certainly have_ grown lovely, little Naomi!" Q2 slid over to her booth and took her hand. Naomi grinned once again when the young 'man' lifted her hand in his and kissed her knuckles softly.

"Charming," Naomi smiled, lifting a delicate brow.

"Is there a specific reason for your visit, Q-Ball?" Icheb asked rather impatiently, suddenly uncomfortable for reasons beyond his understanding.

Or so he firmly told himself.

"Oh, touche!" Q2 grinned again. "I heard you talking about me and I thought I'd drop by and say hello!"

"Well you said it," Icheb lifted his own brow.

"Is he always this grumpy?" Q2 asked, directing the question at Naomi, her hand still secured in his.

"Only when he doesn't get what he wants," Naomi responded, very interested in the way her friend was acting. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was...

"It's alright Icheb, no shame in being _jealous_ ," Q2 said, as though reading her thoughts. Actually, he had probably done just that now that she thought of it. The Q-Continuum were a very mysterious people.

"I am _not_ jealous," Icheb denied. "Naomi is my friend... but you have her hand hostage," he explained in a way that sounded a little lame to Naomi.

"That was lame, Ichy, _even_ for you," Q2 chuckled. Yep, she was right. "Besides, the beautiful Naomi doesn't seem to mind, do you?" he asked with wagging brows.

"You're not hurting me so it's fine with me," Naomi shrugged. To her perpetual surprise, Icheb seemed to become more and more upset. She could tell because his jaw had tightened and his eyes had sharpened. Wow, was he _actually_ jealous? The week was barely over since they met and he was already showing signs of... jealousy? She must have been reading into it though. Maybe he was jealous that his friend's attention was being taken? Must be it, or something similar at least. Either way, Q2 seemed to know exactly which buttons to push on the former Borg.

"In that case, if he's not jealous, and you're open to my advances, want to grab a bite to eat some time? A little date maybe?" Q2 suggested with a knowing grin.

Naomi glanced over at Icheb, who was trying his best not to seem interested in her response, or upset by the situation as a whole. So... he wanted to play it that way, did he? Naomi had a suspicion that maybe he was a little bit jealous, just a little. She couldn't begin to fathom why he would be, surely he didn't feel attracted to her? In any case, it might be interesting to see how this turned out. "You know what,-" she turned to Q2 with a conspiratorial smile, "-that sounds like a fantastic idea!"

"Excellent! Well, it's been fun! But I hear my dad calling me and I gotta leave before he catches up to me. See you around, Ichy, - _amazing_ to officially meet you, Naomi Wildman!" He kissed her hand one more time before popping right out.

"Well that was interesting!" Naomi smiled. Her smile fell when she saw the almost betrayed look in his eyes. "Oh come on, Icheb, he was just messing around," she told him, trying to pacify him, but he had yet to regain his composure.

"I am aware," Icheb said curtly. The returned awkwardness between them made it two degrees warmer in the cafe, and they shifted uneasily in their seats. Icheb knew he was acting childish, but for reasons he couldn't explain right away, this event had grated on him more than he thought it would.

"...So um, let's forget about it for now, okay?" Naomi suggested, attempting to calm him down.

"Agreed," Icheb said simply, taking his coffee and sipping it, not looking her way. At that moment, Icheb seemed years younger than he was, back to his adolescence.

Naomi frowned at his reaction. 'He's being stubborn again...' she sighed inwardly. Boys. They could be such immature babies sometimes. "Anyway, was there more you needed help with?"

Naomi and Icheb ate while talking about the finer points in relating with a greater number of people and at the same time, Icheb let Naomi exercise her skills on a few Astrometrics problems he had prepared for her. He was impressed by how quickly she caught on, and teased her about taking over the class. Naomi had quickly countered that he shouldn't challenge her like that, she just might. They had leaned in a bit close to each other for a moment without noticing it, but when they did they quickly move back, unsettled by the almost physical pull they had between them. It took them a few minutes, but they resumed a more professional attitude with each other. Throughout the meal they settled down a bit more, until it was time to return to class once more.

As they finished up and paid for the meal, there was a long pause. Icheb smiled, fleetingly placed his hands behind him, his unconscious nervous tic evidently. "We should head back now," he said quietly. And just like that, the bizarre almost tangible strain between them returned.

Back in class, Naomi sat at her desk, getting suspicious looks from her friends once more as Icheb began to teach. She was just starting to focus on his _words_ rather than the _sound_ of his voice when she was startled by a beep on her PADD. She turned the volume off and glanced down to see a message. It was from Hannah, the inevitable question of why she and Icheb had been coming in to class together the past few mornings. Naomi knew she couldn't avoid telling them why she would be escaping every other morning to meet with her professor, so she decided she would tell them what they needed to know, hoping that they would remain tactful while class was going on. The audible squeak from Hannah made Naomi almost regret telling her anything. All she said was that she agreed to help him with work if he agreed to challenge her a bit more with classwork. It wasn't like she divulged any taboos or anything.

T'Chea, who sat next her their roommate, rolled her eyes at Hannah's needless over-exuberance. She was a bit disappointed that Naomi didn't reveal any more of the nature of their meeting, but would figure it out eventually... or Naomi would confide in them. Either way, she'd get her answers. Sending a message back, she told Naomi that he seemed to be doing that sort of thing only with her, she had read his file- yeah, she was a Romulan and sneaky- and read that he had kept mostly to himself, not letting people get too close. Naomi was the exception. For added effect, T'Chea mentioned he seemed to have eyes only for her. Naomi, as predicted, told her she was imagining things and to let her concentrate on the class.

Naomi shifted in her seat, trying not to let T'Chea's words get to her. It reminded her of her reflection that Icheb _might possibly_ be attached to her, probably more than he should be. Yeah, Icheb was a reclusive person, but he had friends! ...Well, at any rate, they had been friends before, so sure, it was only natural they would gravitate toward each other now. Despite Naomi's attempts to remain calm and dismiss T'Chea's assumptions, the past days events and her... alarming _feelings_ that were starting to become obvious to her, left the girl unusually distracted during the whole class.

Afterwards, Naomi was once again stopped by Icheb's quiet call. She turned and found him standing by his desk, hands behind his back, head tilted to the side slightly. Uh oh, she recognized that look. "Yes?" she asked politely, feeling the need to escape and clear her mind increase. He had his inquisition expression firmly in place.

"You've been very distracted during class. Is there something wrong?" he asked curiously. Naomi was normally very attentive to his words, knowing how seriously she took Starfleet Academy, so often times she would be typing her notes down, completely involved in her studies and glance up at him often to fully absorb what he was teaching. Today though, she hadn't looked up at him at any point and hadn't seemed to be taking many notes at all. "Maybe something to do with the other day?" He added gently. Things had been odd earlier today, with the whole Q2 fiasco, but that level of awkwardness between them was beginning to be normal. Her reaction this time was a little stronger. What could have been on her mind to distract her so?

Naomi rolled her eyes inwardly. He certainly _was_ a persistent bastard, and entirely too observant for his own good. "No," Naomi shook her head and smiled wanly. "It wasn't... _that._ My friends were just teasing me. It won't happen again," she assured him with conviction.

Icheb remained silent for a moment, as though wanting to question her further but keeping it to himself for once. "I see," he said simply.

"If that's all, I'll be off to my next classes now, okay?" When she received a nod she turned to leave once more. "I'll see you around, _Sir_." Icheb smiled a little at her playful tone and watched her go. Somehow, he didn't quite believe that her distraction was solely caused by her friend. He had the ability to check the computers and see what the messages were if he chose to, but he didn't want to invade her privacy. He would have to get his answers from her himself, when the opportunity presented itself.

Later that night, Naomi had declined going to dinner with her friends, not having the appetite for gossip and rumors that evening. Instead, she decided to go on a walk to clear her mind. Maybe some time to herself would help her bring rationality back to her troubled thoughts. The evening was just getting dark and the stars were all out, the clouds having moved on. Seeing them shining bright in the sky reminded her of flying through space and it brought a smile to her face. As she walked the wonderfully cared for campus, she happened upon an annoyingly familiar face. It seemed she was destined to always run into him, always find him, always be drawn to him, whether she wanted to or not.

Icheb sat on one of the benches, his attention directed to the stars as well, a little old-fashion booklet and ink pen rested in his hands. "Icheb," she greeted and he blinked in surprise, understandably not expecting to see her there too. "What do you have there?" she asked curiously.

"Naomi Wildman," he greeted back and gestured for her to sit. "It's a gift from the Captain," Icheb explained. They both knew which Captain he referred to; Kathryn would always be _their_ Captain. "I was stargazing and writing down the constellations I learned about. Care to join me?"

Naomi thought for a little bit, slightly wary of him and his incessant need to get answers. Not to mention the alarming frequency of 'incidents' that were happening between them. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be in the questioning mood though. "Sure, why not?" Naomi smiled and hesitated before sitting next to him.

Before she could stop him, Icheb began to lecture her on each constellations visible in the sky so far. It was actually pretty interesting to Naomi, never having made the time to actually learn of the stars, their names, origins, or history before. As she sat and listened- or _half_ listened, she was captivated by the soothingly low tenor of his soft voice. Before she knew it, she was being nudged awake. To her horror, she had fallen asleep against his arm. Icheb looked down at her with an amused and affectionate gaze. A very subtle troubled looked had quickly crossed his eyes, but it was gone in a second. She might have imagined it. "Sorry!" Naomi pulled back quickly, trying to discreetly make sure she had not drooled on him.

"It's quite alright," he smiled. "You were only asleep for a few minutes. You seemed stressed today so I didn't have the heart to disturb you. However, this... or rather, _I_ am not the best place to fall asleep on." Icheb had intended to sound sarcastic, playful, but his choice of words and the fact that things were... strained between them, didn't help at all.

Naomi stared at him for a second, doing everything in her power not to let the unbidden images Icheb had inspired from that simple seemingly innocent statement run rampantly across her mind. So much for picturing him like the way he had been in the past, there went _that_ image. "Right..." It seemed he had caught on with what he had said as well, if his sudden aversion of his gaze on her and jaw setting were any indication. "Thanks," she said softly.

"You're welcome," he returned in much the same tone. They remained silent a moment, not knowing how to fix the strange strain between them this time. Things were getting complicated, far too easily than it should have been. Why was that?

"Hey-uh, if I'm going to fall asleep on anything, or _anyone_ , I might as well do it in my own bed, right?" Naomi joked weakly, standing and brushing her uniform from the invisible dust to distract herself.

"Good night, Naomi," Icheb murmured lightly.

Naomi turned from him, hiding her pained expression of her confusion with herself, her reactions, and their stressful situation in general. This really sucked, they were friends who hadn't seen each other in years, and suddenly they could barely stand to be in the same vicinity! "Good night, Icheb," she responded quietly before heading home. Icheb sat on the bench, his eyes returning to the stars, silently questioning the heavens.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Naomi entered her dorm to find T'Chea on the armchair, reading a book on her PADD, Hannah nowhere to be found. "Hey," she greeted her roommate.

"Hi," T'Chea answered with a smile, before returning to her book.

"Hannah?" Naomi asked as she set to prepare a calming cup of tea.

"She said that she was going to meet up with Kav'ain and play pool... or go to the pool to play, not really sure what it is I heard, don't want to know really," T'Chea shook her head.

"Oh! You guys know Kav'ain?" Naomi set her cup on the small counter and waited for the water to heat.

"Sure we do. Hannah and him have been dancing around each other since last year."

"Wait, Hannah is in her second term?"

"No. Unfortunately, she decided her grades were not perfect enough and stayed back to redo them." T'Chea shrugged and went back to her book when Naomi said no more.

'Well, good for them anyway,' Naomi smiled, glad her friends at least had each other. "What about you? What's your story?"

"Oh, it is nothing special, not like yours. My father was a scientist aboard a science vessel while my mother and myself were both on Romulus. I think something happened to my father, he made contact with Starfleet when he was still young and they made an impression on him. When he returned, he told me of his tale, of how he communicated with Starfleet humans of the future, and it inspired me to find out more. My experiences led me here, so here I am."

Naomi thought for a moment, finding that story oddly familiar. "Did you ever find out who those time travelers were?"

"No, and my father did not wish to speak too much of it. Most Romulans have a low respect for Starfleet and even less for people who believe in time travel. I did not wish to upset my father."

"Shame," Naomi shrugged.

After she had her tea with her and sat down, T'Chea asked if Naomi had a nice walk and Naomi, without giving anything away, let her know that she did. She even sat and stargazed on the beautiful campus benches. "Alone?" T'Chea smiled.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it was a nice night," Naomi said enigmatically, obviously not wanting to say more about it.

"I see." T'Chea was silent then, observing her friend for a moment. She noticed that the girl was distracted and not in the mood for teasing, so the Romulan tactfully remained silent. Whatever was going through Naomi's mind, it made her sit at the table, quietly sipping her tea while staring into space. Had what she mentioned to her really gotten to her?

"I'm going to bed," Naomi told her after a bit, before T'Chea could bring up their earlier messaging during class. She did _not_ need to talk about that now!

Thankfully, T'Chea didn't bring it up. "Is the light going to bother you?" she asked, ready to turn the lamp over the armchair off.

"No, that's okay, I can fall asleep pretty easily," Naomi assured her, rinsing her cup in the sink. 'Apparently _very_ easily...' she thought wryly.

"I'm just about done with this chapter anyway; I'll turn the light off in a few minutes."

"Sounds perfect," Naomi nodded and got herself ready for bed. When she finished her nightly routine, the lights were off. She smiled, feeling blessed at having such considerate people for roommates and got into bed. As she settled, her mind went back to that night's event. Naomi had listened to Icheb explain the origin of each constellation, the rumble in his voice soft and inviting. She had been taken back to years ago when he would give her lessons. Often times he tended to go overboard and say too much on a subject, sometimes to her confusion or limited patience at the time, but one thing had always remained true. Naomi loved Icheb's voice.

This time, she had been able to keep up with his lesson, had found it very interesting. She had only meant to close her eyes to concentrate better, to try and not notice how he seemed to lean into her as he pointed out a star, how the smell of him made her dizzy, or how his body heat wrapped around her like a cloak. Naomi knew her current feelings for him were mostly recent, knew full well she had not thought of him the way she now was in the past, even during that five year reunion.

But how could she not? Icheb was _beyond_ easy on the eyes, he was tall, strong, intelligent, and unreasonably sweet. Icheb had shown her to be playful and witty, had shown her to be understanding and accepting. Above all, it was plain to see that he _didn't_ think of her the same way he had in the past. There was _no_ brotherly love coming from _him._ Icheb saw her as she had hoped he would, but the very fact that he was looking at her a _woman_ and not a girl or even as his _student_ made her shift a little.

Icheb was treating her very differently than he treated anyone else, particularly other women, and to her horror she was _responding_ to it. She was fully aware that she was reacting naturally to him, knew she shouldn't let it get to her. But... it still didn't make having that rational knowledge any easier on her. She _couldn't_ allow herself to fall for him. She was a lowly cadet, and he was an instructor, ready for his second deep-space mission. It was unrealistic, unethical, unpractical, and just... plain weird! Any yet, knowing this, seeing the logic in it, didn't quiet the alarmingly increasing stirring deep in her heart. How would she be able to survive Starfleet Academy with Icheb irritatingly stuck in her head? Naomi hoped it was just a crush and it would go away, too much was riding on her focus for some _boy_ to make her lose her way!

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N** : For those of you who don't know, Eshe was a character from the Star Trek novel Homecoming by Christie Golden and Icheb's "love interest" there. They had an interesting dynamic, but I decided against giving her too big of a role here besides a brief mention. I took some artistic liberties with her lol. Does anyone recognize T'Chea's story? A delicious cookie for you if you do!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Naomi was sure she had unset her alarm for the next morning. Unfortunately, her body's ability to _adapt_ woke her up early anyway.

Leave it to Naomi Wildman to unintentionally emulate her old mentor without even meaning to. Thinking of Seven made her slightly homesick, having bonded with the older woman quite closely on the ship, almost like a family would. She had been initially frightened of the former Borg, but the fear had eased away when she realized how caring and human she really was. After that Naomi had stuck to her, even imitating Borg ways, to the chagrin of Seven and Naomi's mother. She wondered what her old mentor was up to now, how she had adapted to Earth, and wondered if Icheb knew anything. Maybe she could ask him?

Pulling herself up, Naomi looked around the quiet room, yawning in sleepiness before slipping quietly out of bed. She had no rush to leave that morning so she was free to take her time. It was much too early for her roommates to wake up, however, so she still resolved to be as quiet as she could. Without having to meet confusing long-lost friends for breakfast that morning, avoiding the chance for more inevitable mixed signals for a change, Naomi set out toward the cafeteria, deciding she may as well go there and wait for her friends to wake up on their own.

She walked the halls, peering out the clear windows to look at the emerging sun from the hills. She smiled to herself, imagining the brilliant ball of fire chasing away the morning frost and bringing warmth to city. Perhaps even blanketing over her and whisking away confusing feelings and perplexing troubles. With that cheerful thought in mind, she made her way to the cafeteria, finding it mostly empty. She sat in the usual spot she and her roommates had taken for dinner on occasion and pulled out her PADD, looking over her assignments that were due that day. Between confusing ex Borgs and nosy roommates, Naomi had squeezed in precious study time, pouring herself into her assignments. She knew that in order to reach her goals she would have to do better than average. Fortunately the little Icheb had helped her with a few times that week had helped her understand a few of the more complex subjects. So engrossed in her studies, Naomi failed to notice the cafeteria slowing filling.

"Wildman!" Naomi snapped her gaze up, startled by the sudden voice near her. Kav'ain smiled and waved at her as he sat at a table with his friends.

"Morning," she greeted back cheerfully. "Have you seen Hannah or T'Chea?"

"Yeah, they stopped at the book store for something, they should be here soon," Kav'ain nodded. The Bajoran frowned slightly, seeing the preoccupied look in his friend's expression just as well as any of her other friends. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but she looked like she needed to think, so he decided against going over to her.

As Naomi waited, she could practically feel the excitement over finally reaching the weekend in the room. Her excitement was dampened slightly, her hyperactive thoughts turning her recent interactions with her old tutor over in her head more than she would have liked. Damn it, wasn't she trying to get ahead on her subjects just now? It wasn't as though she had suddenly become obsessed with him, or _longed_ for him or any other girly synonym. Naomi was just trying to understand why after barely seeing each other and reuniting earlier that week, their dynamics could have changed so drastically.

Naomi remembered the time when she hadfirst met him. He had been extremely reclusive and naive in ways even she was ahead of him with. Even so, with how close she had gotten to Seven, it had been easy to make friends with him and the other Borg children. Naomi then remembered how her mother had once mentioned him being a 'cute boy' with the capacity to unintentionally distract her younger crewmates.

At the time, Naomi had scrunched her nose at the thought, thinking it weird and gross. He was her friend! And older and a dork. Him? Cute? No way! It had taken many months of interacting with him and growing rapidly for her to then _barely_ see what her mother had been talking about. Even at his youth he had been attentive, kind, and helpful, and yes, Icheb had been a cute boy, noticed by the people he interacted with. She had admitted it to herself, even then as a kid, but was he distracting? Not a chance.

A few years later the thought of him being cute had resurfaced, but then five more years had gone by and she had barely thought of him. They had kept in contact, but very little and mostly through email. Here was the thing, Naomi knew she was being over-dramatic and irrational. She knew she was expending _way_ too much time and energy thinking about him and over-thinking their growing relation, but something about him almost seemed to mirror her sentiments sometimes, and that confused the living hell out of her.

"-No, I think she's back at the Delta Quadrant," a voice mentioned softly and Naomi literally blinked away her memories from her vision to look around. T'Chea and Hannah sat by her, poking at their breakfast and looking at her with amusement. "There she is. You back on Earth now?" Hannah asked with a teasing smile, leaning over the table at her in a friendly manner.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to say something to me?" Naomi blushed in embarrassment, not having meant to get so lost in her thoughts.

"We simply wished to say good morning, but you were lost to us," T'Chea explained, a Romulan brow quirked up in silent question.

"I was just... reflecting. It's been a pretty wild week," Naomi responded quietly. "I know you're curious about my mornings, but like I said yesterday, the professor is helping me with extra credit and I'm helping him adjust to his new position. It's nothing worth poking and prodding at and I'd really rather not make a big deal over something so trivial, okay?"

"Alright, Naomi," T'Chea said, trying to pacify her recently easily agitated friend. "We understand," she agreed as Hannah nodded in understanding.

"Good," Naomi let out an audible sigh of relief and got up to get her own food. As long as she was left to deal with her _troubles_ without inquisitive friends to poke at them, she felt she was more likely to figure out how to deal with them. The morning class was uneventful for the most part. The excitement for the weekend caused Icheb to have to scold his students at one point, but aside from that it was relaxed.

After class was over, Naomi paused at Icheb's desk, greeting him politely. "I enjoyed looking at the stars last night. Thank you for explaining the constellations to me. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you, I promise you weren't boring me," she told him with a faint grin. She had been getting confusing signals from him since she met him, and wasn't sure how to react to them.

"I understand," Icheb returned the smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I'll see you around, _professor,_ " Naomi gave him another brief smile before walking out.

Icheb set his PADD down and thought of the night's event. He was still trying to understand why it had been so difficult to concentrate on his work and his project with Starfleet, with her so close to him. This wasn't the first time she had been all but glued to his side in an instructional capacity, but somehow last night it felt different. It was made especially more puzzling when she had fallen asleep on him. He had looked over her relaxed features with affection, but felt a pleasant warmth flow through him at the same time.

The surprising need to pull her into his arms had almost overwhelmed him. He had firmly told himself that it was only to make her rest more comfortable, but he wasn't so sure that was the only reason. He feared what he would have done, be it act on his impulse or rudely pull her away if he hadn't tried to gently awaken her. He was relieved when she had woken up almost immediately. Even now though, he struggled to find the reasoning in his behavior. He knew deep down that his caring for Naomi ran deeper now, was different than it had been in the past. But would it be enough for him to completely lose himself in? Icheb hoped not. Starfleet was distracting enough.

Later that day, after their classes were over, Naomi met with Hannah in the practice fields, having agreed to go with her to watch Kav'ain and his friends practice some sports. The girls walked over, Naomi getting the chance to finally be the one teasing her friend over boys. Hannah took it like a trooper though, not hiding the fact that she had been harboring a deep crush on the handsome Bajoran. Maybe it demonstrated the difference in their slight age difference, as Naomi's roommates were both slightly older than her, but Naomi shook that thought away, not believing it. She was just complicated.

They arrived at the field and smiled fondly as they watched the 'boys' play, weaving from spot to spot, dodging attacks, rolling to defensive positions and getting scores. It was all fun and games until the boys noticed they had company, the attention of girls, and started to play a little rougher, a little more competitively. Hannah leaned over the railing and jumped up in excitement when the Bajoran seemed to be playing very well, scoring a point for his team. "Go Kav'ain!" Hannah cheered. drawing his attention.

To their horror, Kav'ain had turned to wave at her, not noticing the playing heading straight for him. When he turned back, he had to make a wide movement to avoid being run into, unfortunately he missed a step and his face was struck by the handle of one of the sports' tools. The boy flew back, falling on his back from the sudden impact, his vision becoming blurry with both disorientation and a great deal of blood trickling into his eyes. Hannah screeched in horror but Naomi was past the shock, her many experiences dealing with troubling situations as a child spurring her into motion.

"Hannah go get help!" Naomi told her friend and leaped over the railing, landing in front of the bleachers with more agility than she thought she had in her. Without another thought she sprinted to the field where the other players were already beginning to circle their friend. "Move aside please!" Naomi shouldered her way through the group and knelt down beside her friend, checking his injury.

"Wildman?" Kav'ain blinked in confusion, rubbing the blood from his eyes.

Naomi had been tutored by the doctor quite a few times on Voyager, even serving as his 'assistant' on many occasions for simple things, such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the occasional concussion. The doctor had sworn to Samantha that what she learned could one day save her needless trouble. It seemed she had been prepared wisely, for at the very moment Naomi recognized the injury to an incident that had happened to her as child. An away team had come back from a diplomatic meeting with a rather aggressive species and the negotiations had dissolved into a conflict. At the time Naomi was being taught the basics of comparative anatomy when the injured crew member had been brought in. The doctor had, rightfully so, ushered Naomi out, explaining that she did not need to see that much blood.

Afterwards, however, Naomi's curiosity got the better of her and she asked the doctor about it. He explained how it was a contusion to the man's leftmost frontal lobe and that the bleeding could be stopped with pressure. It was only dangerous if the brain was damaged or there was too much swelling. Fortunately, by the answers Kav'ain gave her to simple questions and how his pupils reacted normally when she covered and uncovered them, relying on the light outside, it _seemed_ like just a simple concussion. It was nothing to be too worried about... but she wasn't exactly at the doctor's level and couldn't be sure.

All the same, Naomi took a towel one of the boys handed her, leaving her alone to care for her friend, and helped to support his head, trying her best to help him clean off the blood while they waited. As it happened, Hannah, the coach, and a doctor arrived quickly enough. "It's okay, Hannah, he'll be alright," Naomi assured her friend, stepping back for the professionals to tend to him.

Naomi went over and was about to hug her, but Hannah took a step back and shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said shakily. "Besides, you're covered in blood..." she took a calming breath. "You should go get cleaned up," the normally cheerful girl warned her, subdued by the accident.

Naomi looked down at her uniform and grimaced. "You're right. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Hannah repeated. "I'll look after Kav'ain, you go on."

Naomi nodded and dashed off, hoping that if she was fast enough she could avoid unwanted attention. Naomi had been in such a rush to get to her dorm that she hadn't noticed that her path had suddenly become blocked. As it happened, it just had to be the one person she was trying to... well, not avoid per se, but _not_ run into at the moment! She knew what he would think, seeing her covered in blood. As predicted, as soon as Icheb caught Naomi before she could collide with him, he noticed the macabre all over her hands and parts of her uniform. Faster than you could say 'warp core breach' he was hounding her with questions.

" _What happened?"_ Icheb demanded in a strained tone, his eyes raking over her. "Is this your blood? _Are you hurt_? What _happened_?" The look of panic in his expression was severe.

Peeking around them to make sure they weren't making a scene and relieved that they were out of the way enough to not be noticed, Naomi placed her hands on his arms, gently tugging his hands from her shoulders. "Icheb, if you give me a chance, I'll explain. Don't worry, it's not my blood." Oh yeah, very comforting. It wasn't _her_ blood, she was just covered in _someone else's_ blood and running at full speed through the campus. Nothing wrong at all! Unfortunately, and rationably enough, her explanation didn't seem to calm him down as much as Naomi had hoped it would.

"Then who's is it? What's going on? Are we under attack?" Icheb stepped closer, the worry yet to leave his eyes.

"No no no," Naomi shook her head. "It's alright," she insisted, and began to explain. "My friend and I were watching her crush playing sports. He noticed her attention and got distracted. One thing led to another and his face sort of collided with another player. He's fine though, Hannah brought help and they're with him now."

"I see," Icheb sighed quietly, assuming Hannah was Cadet Moore and Naomi's friend in their first class. "It is a relief that you are unharmed, and that we aren't under attack," he added.

"Yeah. My only concern now is getting to my room to clean up without getting stopped every few minutes or scolded by officers or instructors!" The way he was looking at her made Naomi's heart skip a beat as it rushed within her ribcage. How could someone look so concerned and still pull off looking so captivating at the same time?

"If it would be easier, you are welcome to come with me to my residence? It is not far from here, just two blocks further than the diner. I am aware of how it may appear to others, but if we are careful and quick, you can be in and out with a clean uniform before anyone notices you missing. I have a device that will allow you to remove most of the blood easily enough." Icheb waited patiently for her reply, watching as the proverbial wheels turned in her head. Her expression was unreadable, and he hoped he hadn't stepped out of line with the suggestion.

Naomi couldn't decide what she wanted to do more, laugh at herself for how she was reacting to his innocent suggestion, or mourn her luck at having such a seemingly clueless friend. She wondered if he realized how his suggestion sounded. At any rate, it _would_ be easier if she went to his place, as she was already closer to the entrance to the academy than to the dorms. In the end, she chose the easiest path, not to mention she was very curious how he lived on Earth nowadays. "Thank you, Icheb, sure, lead the way," she said at last, hoping she wasn't making a mistake as she waved for him to lead her.

As they made their way out, Icheb removed his uniform jacket, placing it over Naomi's shoulders. "It will look much better if you wore this rather than showing the whole of San Francisco your uniform covered in blood," he explained.

"Good thinking," Naomi acknowledged, averting her gaze, pulling the jacket in close. She was now surprisingly past the stage she didn't understand most of her body's reactions to him; she knew why she was blushing, she just hoped he wasn't paying too close attention.

They walked quietly, seemingly linked minds reflecting at how complicated things were getting between them for some reason, but neither knowing how to deal with it. When they arrived to Icheb's apartment, they made sure no one was around. While they could pull off being sweethearts or friends visiting each other to normal people, a few of Icheb's colleagues, instructors to the academy lived here as well. They could not risk being caught by them.

Once inside, Icheb directed Naomi to his bathroom. As she shut the bathroom door behind her, Naomi forced herself to relax. Really, this was just friendly help from her good friend, nothing to make a big deal out of. Still... glancing at his sonic shower, unwitting images flitted through Naomi's mind and she had to physically shake her head of the intrusive thoughts. Naomi instead forced herself to focus on her task. Pulling Icheb's uniform jacket off, she paused for a second and brought it to her nose, slowly breathing in his familiar, comforting scent.

After a moment she yanking it away in frustration, wondering what she was doing. Naomi made sure to look it over with the sonic scrubber before she left and set it down on the small counter. She was beyond relieved that the 'device' Icheb had mentioned was none other than a sonic scrubber, just like the one she had been meaning to buy all week. After scrubbing her hands clean of her friend's blood, she took care to remove her uniform. Setting it down next to Icheb's jacket, she methodically ran the scrubber over them. Once she was satisfied with the results, Naomi put her uniform back on and set Icheb's uniform neatly over a rung, stepping out of the bathroom.

Looking around the sparse apartment, she wasn't too surprised to find his living arrangement clean and organized, few choice personal items neatly displayed in their logical places. Walking through the small apartment, she found Icheb moving around in his kitchen, no doubt busying himself while he waited for her. "This is a nice place you've got," Naomi mentioned, placing her hands at her front in an almost defensive manner. Naomi wasn't sure why she was suddenly so nervous, being here in his apartment, but for some reason it was a little disconcerting. She was out of her element here, and on top of that, Icheb seemed more relaxed than usual.

"Thank you," the Brunali smiled easily.

To distract herself from her nerves, Naomi decided to fall back to humor. "You know, if you straightened this place any more, I'd swear you were related to Tuvok! You sure you aren't part Vulcan?" she joked lamely.

"Quite sure, Naomi Wildman. I believe I appreciate the use of humor and expression of happiness more than keeping it all withheld," Icheb countered. There was an awkward pause. "Would you like a drink?" he asked curiously.

Again deciding she needed a little mirth to ease the tension, Naomi grinned and shook her head. "Are you trying to get me drunk? Invite me to your apartment and offer me a drink?" she teased. To her astonishment, Icheb did not react in the way she had imagined he would, awkward, apologetic, and amending. Instead, he titled his head to the side and gave her a familiar impish smirk... with an unfamiliar slyness mixed into it.

"Trust me, if my intention were what you are suggesting, you would not need to get drunk for anything to happen between us," Icheb said in slow, low tone. For however much Icheb had denied to himself the true feelings he had for Naomi, he couldn't help feeling thrilled by her reactions to his less than innocent reply. He was well aware that it wasn't appropriate, but he knew she liked him to at least some degree, had been getting many clues that told him so, so his reaction to her joke had been only natural. His body reacted to her challenge in a way he was more or less familiar with, though now only a little surprised that he was doing so for _her_.

Naomi knew he was joking, but she felt her mouth hang open in shock. What was more troubling though was how his soft voice had taken an almost spicy timbre. Where had that confidence come from? On top of that, he leaned back against the counter, giving her a challenging look before seemingly making a show of folding his arms. The normally relaxed muscles underneath his fair skin swelled with the precise movement attractively and Naomi was suddenly aware of a number of factors.

One, that she was standing in _his apartment_ , close enough to feel his body heat.

Two, that Icheb was _flirting_ with her, jokingly or not! Flirting was flirting!

Three, Naomi had the impression that Icheb's shirt was _far_ too snug on him at the moment.

Not to mention his body language was _not_ innocent in the least.

Naomi found herself fixated by him, unable to control the images that flashed before her eyes at his provocative suggestion. The room felt as though it had burst into flames around her and she couldn't breathe. Since when did awkward, lanky Icheb behave that way? Since when did she _react_ to him so strongly? Seeing the intense change in his demeanor caused a sudden rush of unexpected, unexplainable longing to tear through her, making her shudder involuntarily. Naomi had to turn away, unable to look at him any longer, confused with her body's reaction to a simple flirt. Despite the trouble she knew she was in by her realization that she was _more_ than a little attracted to him, a small part of her still thought of how very irritating all of this was.

So much for trying to deal with it.

"I... um..." Naomi was at a complete loss for words, her now complicated emotions waging a war within her rapidly coloring body. She knew her reaction to him was making her almost light up like a pure blooded Ktarian. But it was _his_ fault! Not hers!

Icheb's eyes widened when he realized that she was more flustered by this than he thought she would be. At the same time, he was surprised at himself for how forward he had been with his flirtatious response. He would be lying if he told himself he didn't understand where that had come from though. Perhaps his relaxed inhibitions in his own home made him merely speak what had been lurking deep inside him for a while. For a moment he felt shame for his lack of filter, knowing this wouldn't help their strained friendship any, but a part of him rebelled at the control he had been keeping around her.

It was then he noticed, baring the obvious reaction she had to his inappropriate flirting, she had once again turned a very dark red, more so than normal humans and very reminiscent of the first time. His brows furrowed and he narrowed his eyes slightly. So he was right, _he_ was the cause of her heightened emotions after all. It could only mean that she didn't find him just a little attractive. Her flush, her avoidance of eye contact, and stiffness of her back just served to ingrain his suspicion, but he still wanted to hear it from her to be sure. He wasn't completely sure why, but he _needed_ to hear it from her.

"Naomi, do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked in a quiet tone, no semblance of his earlier candor evident. "This isn't the first time you've reacted the way you are now to me. That morning after we ran for cover from the rain. Something I did set you off, making your face redden the same way it is now. Why is that?" he stepped closer to her. "Is something wrong?"

Naomi felt her heart racing and could not control her blasted Ktarian flush. She took a step away from him as he approached and shook her head almost violently. "Nothing is wrong, Icheb," she insisted. Where did all of this come from? The week wasn't even over yet! Why had it become so unbelievably awkward so suddenly?

"Nothing? Then why do you keep trying to distance yourself from me?" Icheb asked, taking another step forward.

Naomi let out a shaky breath, heart thundering in her ears. "Why do _you_ keep trying to come _closer_?" Naomi countered hotly, confused by him and herself all at once.

Icheb might have wanted to know what she was feeling, but despite his strong impulses, he _was_ also concerned, not understanding her violent denial. Her reactions were also _not just_ a little annoyed. That in mind, he knew this was probably a bad idea, almost like cornering a frightened animal... but his curiosity was far too strong for his normally logical mind to temper. "If nothing is wrong, don't run from me," he said in a painfully gentle way.

"I am _not_ running," Naomi denied fervently, though she contradicted herself by taking another step back when he got close enough for her smell his faint musky aftershave. "Icheb," Naomi stressed, taking yet another step away, and placing her hand up to stop him, feeling the need to escape greater than ever. He was too close to finding out how she felt about him. She wasn't an idiot, she knew she had started to feel something a little more than friendship toward him since they reunited, but it was still too confusing for her to properly identify.

Even so, despite denying actually feeling anything more than friendship and at the moment irritation toward him, if he found out, it could make it even more uneasy for them; it could complicate their relationship as student and instructor, could further distract her from her goals. A part of Naomi nearly yearned for her to just give in to the feeling, tell him all of her complicated... stresses... but she couldn't do that to either of them. "If you're really my friend you'll let this go, you won't push me," she insisted. Why did she have to be the voice of reason here?

Part of him told Icheb to stop, that he was making a mistake, he knew it would only complicate things, acknowledging this elusive feeling, but it was as though he had lost control of himself. "I only push you because I'm your friend and feel... concern for you." Icheb knew he was using that as an excuse now, what he felt was more of a deep tug, a desire to hear her own words reflecting his feelings. He knew she felt something, could see it plainly. Yes, it was more of an excuse than anything else, but damn him if he didn't care at the moment.

Naomi was getting more and more frustrated by his persistence. "I promise there's nothing to feel concerned about! Really Icheb, I blush and you're overreacting!"

"It's not a simple blush, Naomi Wildman," Icheb nearly growled, irritated by her stubbornness. Before she could move further away from him, Icheb surprised her by taking her hands in his and Naomi felt her heart squeeze in shock and an irrational fair amount of pleasure at the feel of his rough hands encircling hers. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? There was a point in time when you could tell me anything..." he reminded her sadly.

Naomi took a deep breath, fighting to control her emotions. "We're not kids anymore, Icheb," she responded softly, trying to tug at her hands, but he stubbornly held them secured in his much bigger ones.

"I agree with you, we're certainly _not_ kids anymore." His eyes were intense with double meaning. "Naomi... do I make you uncomfortable?" Icheb repeated just as softly, moving close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her skin.

"You... confuse me," Naomi revealed reluctantly, craning her head to look up into his expressive eyes. "I can't tell you what you make me feel because I'm still trying to figure that out," she said barely above a whisper. Naomi shivered at the knowing look in his eyes, as though he knew exactly what she didn't say. But how could he? Unless he felt the same? It was obvious he didn't believe what she said completely, but she was glad that he at least didn't point it out.

Naomi wished they could go back to how they had been at the start, just picking on each other and having ignorant fun. She pulled her hands from his, trying very hard not to notice the look of hurt that flashed briefly through his eyes. "Even if there _was_ anything to say, I am not prepared to tell you anything. Don't force me to say something I'm uncomfortable saying." Naomi could see that Icheb wanted to argue more, but she put her hand up again and shook her head, stopping his words in their tracks. "Thank you, for letting me use your bathroom, Icheb. I'll be going now," she told him morosely.

Icheb watched her grab her things silently. "Should I even ask if I could escort you back to the dorms?" he asked with a lamenting, weak smile after a bit, knowing whatever had changed between them this time would not be easily fixed.

"No. It will be easier to sneak out on my own, it... won't exactly look innocent for a student to be leaving her instructors apartment this late, would it?" she responded, at the same time reminding him that it was his fault they were at that point now. Her stubborn flush of her oversensitive emotions toward him had yet to leave her, but she hoped the cool night air would help ease her.

"I'll worry for your safety," he said, his hands lying limp at his side.

"I'm a big girl, and remember, I'm resourceful," she reminded him gently.

Icheb nodded and smiled wistfully. "I remember. Please let me know when you returned safely?"

"Sure..." Naomi smiled weakly and turned to leave. "Your jacket is folded in the bathroom," she let him know without turning to look back. "Thanks again, Icheb." With that, Naomi slipped out of his apartment, leaving Icheb to watch her with a familiar sense of loss, and new sense of melancholy.

What had he done?

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N** : This chapter was another that had not been originally included in the previous story, but it serves to further cement their complicated relation with each other. I know there's a lot of reflection going on, and there will continue to be, but the fact that there was next to zero character reflection and development in the previous story was a grave mistake. I failed to bring across the thoughts and developing feelings of the characters last time, and am trying to do so this time. I hope no one minds. This chapter was partly influenced by "Inscape" by Stateless.

Shout Outs

 **MissSarahG1:** Aww, you're sweet. I'm super happy you're liking this story so much so far! I hope you also enjoyed this one as much as the last!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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That weekend, and then the following week after, neither Naomi nor Icheb saw much of each other.

During that time, Icheb attended a few mandatory meetings to go over curriculum and the prospect so far of their class schedules, mechanics, students, and any academic issues that could crop up in that semester. Meanwhile, Naomi Wildman had spend most of her time either with Hannah and T'Chea at their dorm or at a gathering, or out exploring San Francisco with one of them. While Naomi tried to forget the... _misunderstanding_ , she and Icheb had the that last Friday, his words and tenacity for answers from her continued to weigh heavily on her. No matter how much she tried to deny anything being wrong to her friends, her thoughts continued to turn to her Astrometrics instructor. As cliché and irritating as it was, she couldn't get him off her mind and worried over the implications.

Why did they always seem to always run into each other?

Why was it that it was always so awkward each time?

It had been so since the beginning of their reunion. Her mind replayed that weeks many 'incidents', beginning with their awkward first hug. It should have been a warning to her when she first felt how right it was to be in his arms. Then it just got 'worse' through the week, lingering looks, slow smiles, 'innocent' touches, bumping into each other often, awkward wet clothing accidents, falling asleep on him, and then most recently his flirting and their little fight. It was enough to drive a girl _insane._ Suffice it to say, Naomi resolved to stay away from the academy that weekend, hoping to avoid bumping into him as had become their _thing._ She hoped some time apart from him would clear her thoughts and help her focus.

She had gone ten years without thinking of him even close to this much, damn it!

Unfortunately, Hannah had noticed her mind contradictingly drifting off too many times already and her natural over stimulated curiosity was too much to ignore for her. "Naomi? Are you alright? You've been really distracted all weekend!" It wasn't just the distraction the older girl noticed, but that her friend had been... sullen, almost reserved. They had spent their Saturday out exploring the immediate area around the academy, finding a decent sized mall just a few miles away, and had decided to explore it the next day- to Kav'ain's dismay, who had agreed to go with them. The Bajoran was nowhere to be found at the moment though and the girls sat at the cafeteria with drinks, relaxing. It was in that pause that Hannah had noticed that when her friend wasn't being uncharacteristically overly interested in their outing, she was out of it.

Naomi looked over, snapping out of her thoughts and tried to smile reassuringly. "I'm just fine. There's a personal issue I'm dealing with, that's all, nothing to worry about."

"Well... if you're sure. You know you can talk to me if you need to, right?" Hannah reminded her gently.

Naomi smiled lightly and nodded. "I know, thank you. I'll tell you if it gets to that point, okay?"

Hannah seemed satisfied with this. "That's all I ask."

At the same time, Icheb sat at his desk in his apartment, his hair standing up slightly from the many times he ran his hand through it in agitation. He knew he should be focusing on the meetings, focusing on getting his plan for the next week of teaching ready, but all he could think about all weekend was how irrationally _stupid_ he had been that week. Despite his good intentions, or so he believed, he had pushed too far! In his _irrelevant_ , _incessant_ need to get answers he had inadvertently forced a wedge between them. It didn't just go that far though, he had started it all, he had been so eager to get reacquainted with her, so fond of his memories of her, so willing to be as open as he could be, that he had shown more than he had intended.

He had been the one to send her signals _first_.

Yes, Icheb had _expected_ that they would be like strangers at first. They hadn't kept in as close contact as they could have, hadn't seen each other in a very long time, so it was only natural that they would barely know each other now as adults. He had _not_ however expected the amount of _chemistry_ between them. He knew the description was apt, it was the only things between them that seemed to make sense. The way they interacted since meeting in class the first day was like normal strangers who suddenly met unintentionally and had an instant connection.

Yeah, he wasn't _completely_ clueless.

He wasn't inexperienced either. Despite what he felt was Naomi's misguided interpretation of him being 'innocent' or 'naïve', Icheb _had_ had 'experiences' in his time on Earth. He knew the signs, remembered the awkwardness of first times. The way they had met again was just like strangers having a connection. The problem was, they weren't _exactly_ strangers and there _had_ been a vestigial connection between them already, no matter how small and underdeveloped it had been. What they had before was _anything_ but the kind of connection he was thinking about though, and to have such a switch was... disconcerting, to say the least. He had a feeling it was what Naomi had been struggling to understand since they reunited, and he had only heightened the confusion.

Icheb let his head drop in his hands, groaning in frustration. Leave it to him to overreact and blow an initially innocent and happy kinship with an old friend out of proportion. This was not the first time he had taken an obviously friendly intention and circumstance either completely out of context or over-dramatize it. It had happened many times on his stay on Voyager. He had hoped he had grown out of that since then, apparently that wasn't the case. Now the problem was, how would he fix it between them? How could they go back to being friends? Was it even possible or was he being delusional? And... did he even _want_ to return to how they were on Voyager?

No, he realized, he honestly didn't.

That Monday, Naomi knew she was being reclusive and stubborn. She knew she was avoiding him now, but could she be blamed? After their confrontation Naomi was afraid that if they spoke again they would blow up at each other. She, of course, had no choice but to show up in his class, but pretended like she was entirely too busy taking notes and studying what he taught. Part of her really was, having to keep up with her studies even with her 'boy troubles'. Hah, imagine that, since her rocky start with boys since arriving on that planet, she hadn't had troubles per se, almost wondering why every other female seemed to. Now here she was, having her own 'troubles' just like the rest of them.

But it wasn't just like the rest of them, was it?

Naomi forcibly shoved her unproductive thoughts out of her mind, going back to her resolve to focus. She knew it was petty of her, but she didn't show up for breakfast the next morning, wondering if Icheb was even there, waiting for her. How long would he wait? Was he looking to repair what had happened that night or continue it? Naomi couldn't be sure and frankly didn't want to risk it. Hannah and T'Chea had noticed her attempts at being cheery, despite not feeling it entirely, but didn't say anything thankfully. As uneasily as their first few moments together had been, T'Chea and Hannah had very fortunately turned into friends Naomi could truly count on. They never pushed her and never demanded she tell them what was wrong. ...Unlike a certain someone she firmly pushed out of her mind. Again. Even so, Naomi only half heard them when her friends spoke to her those days, though she did agree to go shopping with Hannah more often and try new cultural experiences with T'Chea, as she had put it.

Naomi was subdued the next class, her strain with her old friend starting to get to both of them. Again, she knew it was petty and honestly below her, but she avoided his gaze, knowing full well he was trying to convey his feelings with his eyes. Since they were kids Icheb had a tendency to not be able to communicate what he felt with words very well at first, despite trying to and often times coming across as too mechanical, too blunt or somehow unreachable.

Naomi had noticed even as a child that he had very expressive eyes and learned to read what he was trying to say, including when he taught her through them. They had even made a game out of it! She would try to guess what he was thinking about by looking at his expressions, his dancing eyes, and it often times dissolved into him pulling and face and making her giggle. She always felt comforted by his gaze, which was probably why she had been caught by them in their initial reunion... but now... now it just served to make her close up tighter, do everything she could not to look at those hauntingly beautiful orbs, knowing her battle would be lost if she did.

The next day, as she had the previous, Naomi made her attempt to leave the class with everyone else. Icheb had called her, but Naomi refused to react to his call, knowing it had nothing to do with her academic progress. She was ahead of her class and doing well in her other classes, so she knew if he was trying to talk to her it was something to do with her avoiding him. "What's going on?" Kav'ain asked that day after classes. "You don't seem like yourself, Wildman. I know we don't really know each other that well yet, but I like to think I've spent enough time with you girls to know something is up?"

"Nah, you're imaging things, Kav'," the half Ktarian grinned, trying to dissuade her friend from questioning her further. "If anything is wrong, it's probably something girly you don't want to hear about anyway!" Kav'ain didn't look convinced and appeared to want to question her further, but Hannah once again came to the rescue and nudged him, shaking her head. Kav'ain wasn't dumb enough to intrude in what was obviously something private, so he yielded and kept quiet. Naomi sent her friends a grateful smile. She felt guilty, not conveying what was troubling her to her clearly concerned and supportive friends, but she needed to deal with this herself first.

She should have known that sooner or later Icheb's mastery of persistence would catch up to Naomi.

After yet again avoiding him that next morning, almost the entire week, and all but ignoring him during class, answering him in short precise responses when he called on her during class, it was very evident that Icheb had entirely enough of her behavior. She could see the tension in his jaw, the steely determination in his eyes and shuddered at the intensity. As alarming as it was, Naomi wasn't quite sure if her shiver from his intense gaze was bad or... _good_.

Before she could leave, Icheb very formally, and in front of the others, requested her to stay after class. Naomi was trapped, knowing she couldn't disregard his request in front of the other students, knew he had used her sense of duty and honor to his advantage, and hated him for it. Naomi stayed, nervously watching her classmates leave. "What can I do for you, professor Hansen?" Naomi asked formally, shifting uneasily where she stood at the front of the room. She watched him silently walk by her to shut the door and stood by it.

"You've been avoiding me," he accused simply and Naomi nearly winced visibly at the obvious hurt in his voice.

"Have I been?" Naomi queried idly, trying to remain calm.

"Yes, you have. Why?" He demanded, the frustration and annoyance obvious in his tone.

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it? Is that a crime?" Naomi pressed, turning away from him defensibly.

"I thought you said there was nothing to talk about?" Icheb pointed out, catching her slip. "I simply mentioned you avoiding me."

Naomi felt trapped at being caught. He was right, of course, he hadn't mentioned anything and she had been thinking about their previous _misunderstanding._ Turning back to him, she frowned deeply. "Drop it, Icheb," she warned him, trying to remain patient but quickly losing her temper. When he didn't budge, Naomi began to feel a little bit panicked. What did he want from her? "Are you going to let me leave? I have other classes I need to get to."

Icheb's jaw shifted and his brows furrowed, irritated by her behavior. "No." Was that how she wanted to do things? Fine. "You're behavior is almost bordering on _insubordination_."

" _Insub_ \- what?!" Naomi's mouth fell open in shock. "Just _how_ is it insubordination?" she questioned incredulously.

"You're avoiding talking about something that is clearly becoming a problem, and avoiding me in general. You refuse to acknowledge that something is wrong and refuse to tell me what it is. On top of that you ignore me when I try to talk to you, you display a rebellious attitude, and you're often so distracted in class that you don't even realize I've asked you a question. You're acting like a _child_!" Icheb nearly growled out in frustration. He knew it was a _bad idea_ to accuse her so harshly, the week was getting to him though and he was tired of running away from whatever was happening between them. As he should have known his accusations would cause, Naomi exploded with rage, though fortunately was tactful enough to not actually yell at him.

"If I'm being anything it's _defensive_!" Naomi bit back.

"Defensive over what!" Icheb threw his arms up in exasperation. "You're even refusing to tell me what is making you defensive!" Icheb shot at her, becoming more and more confused and angry by her aloofness.

"Maybe over your ridiculous need to question me!" She bit back. "Why are you being so invasive?"

"Why are _you_ avoiding _everything_? You're being a brat," Icheb told her in a low tone. He didn't honestly believe that, but at the moment he was too upset to realize he was the pot calling the kettle black.

"Yeah? Well _you're_ being an egotistical, obstinate asshole!" Naomi replied in a hissed whisper, in the back on her head aware that it was basically a breach in protocol to disrespect an instructor like that, but at the same time not caring. Besides, the door was closed, so she could tell him off all she wanted! "Frankly, I'm feeling almost _harassed_ by you!" she growled back. Harassed might have been a strong word for it, but it certainly felt like it bordered on it at the moment.

This time, Icheb knew that Naomi's angry red face, exasperated by her silky strawberry blonde hair, was _not_ caused by _any_ pleasant emotions whatsoever, no matter her previous denial to them at his face. "I could pull rank," he began before he could stop his impulsive and frustrated words from escaping his mouth. It seemed his impulsiveness had not been weaned out of him with growth. "I could _make you_ talk to me," he threatened seriously, though halfheartedly.

Naomi went ridged, her lips pursing and her glare intensifying. "Only _you_ would be persistent enough to go so far, get so _low_ ," she spat angrily, unable to believe him. "You're being selfish and absurd. How could you try to _force_ us to talk about something? I told you I didn't feel ready to tell you anything! What makes you think you have the right to force me to tell you _anything_? Putting aside how we _may or may not_ have been able to tell each other everything as children, whatever may or may not be wrong _it is still in my right to keep to myself_!" She raged, nearly losing the fight in her volume control. "What makes you think you know me?! You don't know me!"

Icheb remained silent after her speech. He placed his hands behind his back customarily, looking away from her then, staring out the classroom window pensively. "You're right. Maybe we don't know each other as much as we assumed we did, after all."

His tone was reserved, hurt, but Naomi would not let that get to her. "I'm glad we can at least agree on _something_. I guess we really are strangers," she replied demoralized, mirroring him, not able to look at him anymore. "Maybe it's a good idea that we stop trying to act like we've always been friends." Icheb turned to her sharply, his heart grinding to a halt in protest at what she was suggesting. "Maybe it's a good idea if we... didn't try to see so much of each other. No more breakfasts. No more after school running into each other. We avoid each other. We keep things professional and distant," she suggested in a defeated tone, quiet and having lost its fire.

"Perhaps... that is best," Icheb agreed just as quietly, looking away when Naomi shut her eyes painfully. He let her go shortly after, stepping aside and not giving her another look as she brushed by him. They parted bitterly, moving on with their day and doing everything they could to push the awful fight out of their minds.

After class, Icheb avoided all contact with his colleagues who normally stopped him to chat, making the excuse that he had work to get to and couldn't give them his time. He went directly to his apartment, resolved to do just as he told his colleagues and pour himself into his work. It was a surprise then, when he noticed someone waiting for him at his door. "Seven! What are you doing here?" Icheb felt marginally better seeing his adopted mother and mentor at his door, smiling affectionately with a shadow of his normal enthusiasm. They hugged each other briefly before pulling away and appraising each other fondly.

"I was in the system and thought it would be agreeable to visit my _son_ ," Seven's smile widened at the warmth that pooled in Icheb's eyes at being addressed as such. She knew it meant a lot to him to have a family that cared for him, and it meant a lot to her to receiving similar affection and love from someone that might as well have been her birth son, for everything they've been through together.

"I'm... I'm glad you're here," Icheb said solemnly.

Seven frowned, noting in his tone the weariness and... sadness? "Icheb, what is the matter?" she asked in concern. Since the Doctor had unlocked her ability to access the full range of her emotions with many meticulous procedures, Seven had been striving to practice, expressing what she inwardly thought and felt as much as the circumstance would allow her. Now was one such time that she valued the ability to express them properly.

"I may have ruined a very important friendship," he explained, motioning for her to enter his apartment. They walked in and Icheb offered her tea, knowing she had grown fond of it in recent times. Seven brushed his irrelevant need to make small talk away in favor of addressing the issue, wanting to get to the bottom of what was bothering him quickly. Huh, maybe his fixating need for answers were influenced by her? Maybe it was just a Borg trait? Either way, Icheb would not deny her and sat with her, beginning his tale. He explained how he reunited with Naomi Wildman, how he had been caught completely off guard when he realized how grown up she was. At that point Seven lifted a knowing brow, but said nothing, letting him carry on with his story. He told her how since his meeting with her he managed to startle her, make her uncomfortable, hurt her, and then finally alienate her from him.

"Hurt her? Clarify," Seven demanded, feeling the niggling beginnings of disapproval poke through her increasingly maternal personality. It was then she noticed again the look in his eyes and was able to identify it properly. It wasn't just simple sadness, it was an intense regret and Seven felt her heart clench with worry, wondering just what had happened.

"I think I've..." Icheb trailed off, realization suddenly dawning on him. "I think I've fallen in love with her," he told her abruptly, his tone leaning toward shell-shocked. Icheb had known he had been developing feelings for the girl, he just hadn't realized they would be this strong so quickly. Maybe... maybe she was right... maybe they did need this time apart? To figure out exactly how deeply the emotions ran?

Seven didn't know what to feel first, confusion, sympathy, happiness that he finally found someone worthy of his love and she his, or intense annoyance at him for what he might have done to the precious girl Seven had always viewed as a surrogate daughter. "Elaborate," Seven prompted firmly. Seven knew Icheb did not have it in him to physically hurt anyone, especially after his troublesome memories as a Borg, and more so with people he cared about. She was concerned at the emotional level of pain he may have caused her, remembering how sensitive the girl could get, and how impulsive and childish Icheb could get.

"In my... attempts to find out how she felt for me in return, I pushed her too far, 'scared her away' as is the apt term... and I don't know how to handle it," his shoulders completely sagged. "She hates me now," he presumed grimly, his face contorting into pain. Seven could only assume that the way he spoke about this, they had had a fight and he assumed that with the mean words said during the heat of the argument she had adverse feelings to him now. Icheb still had a bit to learn, after all. Being a male, Seven knew he would not want to show her the 'weakness' of crying in front of her, but she could sense that he was very alarmingly on the verge of doing just that.

Feeling an overwhelming need to comfort the young man she had raised for eleven years, Seven pulled the 'boy' into her arms, his now much larger body curling against her as she hugged him tightly and caressed his hair soothingly. Icheb shook in her embrace, but bravely held himself together. "Icheb," she began softly. "If it is meant to be, you'll find that things will eventually find a way of rectifying themselves," she told him gently, feeling him nod against her. Was coddling him a good idea now? Should she be all but encouraging him to continue to mess up with Naomi? Seven knew better than most people that mistakes of the past should be forgiven though, she just hoped he would learn from them.

Even so, in an attempt to calm him, Seven spoke to him some more, deciding it would merit to speak of happier things as a distraction. She told him of her research into the transwarp conduit, seeing if it were possible to reopen it, to discover if it was possible to find a wormhole on the other side, link it to the Alpha Quadrant and try to establish contact with their allies. She told him that they had managed to initiate a very fleeting and very small wormhole. Things looked promising. There didn't seem to be any... adverse conflict with the conduit, all traces of potential threats absent. Neelix had told them through the monthly contact that he and his family might even be amendable to visiting them if they got a wormhole stable enough for proper use.

Throughout her talk, Icheb had yet to comment, yet to move from his mostly immobile state, though he would nod ever so slightly every now and then. Icheb was aware of his attitude, knew he was perhaps overreacting, but the regret and guilt he felt was almost overpowering. "You must be patient, Icheb," she told him finally, and once more felt him nod in agreement. It was all she could do for him now. It was up to him to carry on from then on.

At the same time, Naomi all but collapsed on her dorm door, swiping at the door to open it with her card quickly. She willed her breathing to return to normal, fearing she was about to hyperventilate. She had to get herself under control! She had done her best throughout the day to forget her fight with Icheb, forget that they probably weren't friends anymore, and succeeded for the most part. She focused on her classes and put in all her effort to engaging in them. When they were over though, her merciless mind flung every hurtful things they had said back at her. Prying her door open she didn't know which illusive God to thank first that neither of her roommates were there at the moment.

She threw her bag on her bed and carefully sat down on the couch, pulling a PADD out and trying to find a comforting novel to distract her. She knew studying right now would be futile, and flinched at her choice of words. However, her fingers were not cooperating on the device and her vision was beginning to blur wetly. She angrily scrubbed at her face and tossed the PADD aside. Burying her face in her hands, Naomi struggled to keep herself together, her body shaking with the effort. The first week of her stay at the academy had started out so well! And now it was crumbling all around her. Yeah, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was exaggerating. Her grades were, as usual, stellar, she had caring friends and a bright future. But...

Boys.

They were always the same, no matter what species or age, weren't they? ...No, that wasn't right either, Icheb was never _just_ some _boy_ , was he? Naomi held herself tightly, trying to physically keep herself in check, trying to ignore the pain she felt deep inside. Her attempts were useless, control weak, and soon she found herself unable to stop a sob from escaping her lips. Quickly pulling herself up, she went over to the phone, needing to hear her mother's voice, see the smile that always made her feel safe. She nearly lost control again when her mother's face went on the screen, happy to see her daughter as usual.

"Naomi! What's wrong, sweetheart?" Samantha's eyes widened at the despairing look in her daughter's tear-stained face.

"Mommy, I... I made a mistake!" Naomi covered her mouth, regressing back to the age of a child, feeling her lips tremble behind her hand as she desperately tried to stop herself from bawling like one in front of her mom.

"Sweetheart, what happened? What mistake?" Samantha felt her own eyes threaten to break out in tears as the clear distraught coming from her daughter.

"You... remember _Icheb_ , right?" Naomi asked in a tremulous voice, stressing his name to force it past of her stubborn lips.

"Sure, you and that boy seemed thick as thieves on Voyager." Naomi tried not to react to that statement, tried not to show the pain she felt and longing for those times. "I thought you had a crush on him at one point, for the amount of time you seemed to spend together," Samantha tried to joke, but was surprised when Naomi looked away. Maybe it wasn't so much of a joke?

"I did have a crush on him," Naomi said very softly, realizing it now, though knowing it could be too late anyway. "He's an instructor here at the academy." Naomi went on to explain it to her mother very much how Icheb had with Seven, though from her point of view. "Why... why are men so stubborn? So confusing?" She asked woefully.

"Oh honey, men are boys at every age. They're stubborn, always think they know more, and always try to assert their dominance, prove that they're strong enough to take care of us 'weaker females', despite how strong we may be. It's in their nature," she explained softly. Now was not the time to point out to her how stubborn and confusing girls could be as well. Men and women were just wired differently, and no matter the species, destined to misunderstand each other. Samantha set out to tell her the story of how she met Naomi's father, how unbelievably thick he was, stubborn and pushy, just like Naomi had described Icheb as being.

"But he was only that way because he cared so much for me," Samantha explained gently. "Eventually we understood each other and our love conquered our frustrations toward each other. It will happen to you too, sweetie." Samantha then went on to tell her that sometimes a little distancing wasn't a bad thing, it was a natural way to evaluate how one felt for the other, see if the emotions were a passing infatuation, or something deeper.

"Maybe you're right," Naomi ventured a tearful smile, wishing desperately for her mother's comforting arms. Hearing about her father made her yearn for his arms just as strongly, having had made a strong bond with him since reuniting with him. Right now though, being comforted by her mother but unable to feel her soothing caress, smell her familiar perfume, or hear her strong heartbeat, was enough to send fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Just give it some time, you'll see whether what you feel for this boy is worth your effort, and you heart." Naomi agreed reluctantly and decided that she would see this through. If she and Icheb were meant to be, they would find each other eventually.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** Believe it or not, this was one of my favorite chapters to write out so far, so much intensity and development. I used to hate angst, but somehow I've gotten good at writing it... _apparently_. I'm aware some of you don't like Seven, but she is an important part of Icheb's life, so please try to deal with it, she's not really a main character. By the way, is "contradictingly" even a word? I feel like it should be. My writing program refused it as a proper word though. You tell me!

Also, as you may or may not have noticed, I tend to listen to music when I write, and sometimes certain music will influence what I write. I'll be putting down what I was influenced by so you can get a glimpse of how my mind works when I write. This chapter was influenced by the songs "Milk" and "Drive You Home" by Garbage. The songs hit the theme of the chapter, the melody, sad tune, and most of the lyrics match pretty well too, especially for the ending of the chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

" _You say that time can't heal, the broken heart you stole. I don't know what's real. I don't know what's real. You are what I can't feel. Oh, something in my heart, still you're in my heart, makes me miss you more." **-** "Something In My Heart" Royksopp._

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They barely looked at each other, or even went as far as to greet each other at all the next day.

They had torn into each other so badly the previous day that the anger and pain was still very fresh on their minds. Despite how their respective mothers had tried to console them, they had refused to come to terms with what had been said, and what such strong reactions could mean for both of them. Especially now that they were far from being on pleasant terms.

They threw themselves into their work the next passing days, going on without a single sparing glance to each other when not absolutely necessary, though at the same time feeling weighed down more and more by it.

While Naomi did everything to pretend he wasn't there, aside from properly answering questions and engaging in class, Icheb tried his best to keep his mind solely focused on teaching. Icheb had been so sure that Naomi would be receptive to him, know she had similar feelings toward him. He could not fault her firm desire to focus on her studies though, it was what he admired from her the most. However, his admiration to her choice did not temper his need to seek her. Icheb had never felt as drawn to someone as he had to Naomi Wildman.

In his adolescent years on Voyager he had befriended many people, but his age and naiveté had relegated him to spending most of the time with the younger passengers on Voyager. While he had been, mostly in the literal sense, bonded with the other former Borg Children, Naomi's propensity to spending time with them, considering her curiosity for anything Borg and need to 'play' had often times resulted in them spending a lot of time together. It was only natural that they would have bonded the way they had. Years later, that bond, despite it having weakened over the decade physically apart from each other, was still strong enough to pull him toward her. Seeing her as an adult, having radically matured physically, emotionally, and mentally, attracted him to an unreasonable degree. How could he ignore that?

Some days it didn't work for either of them and they found their gazes flickering to each other when they were sure the other wasn't looking, unaware of how much they mutually wished to end this disagreement.

Icheb fought for focus, angry at himself for losing his concentration over a mere girl, despite knowing in his heart that she was everything but 'mere'. It only took until the end of that initial first week for Icheb to truly understand what he felt for her, understand that he hadn't just simply missed her company from when they were children, and now hadn't wanted just any friend, but wanted her. Even if it were possible to attain his desires, his selfish need for her would get him and Naomi herself distracted. It was not fair to her, he valued her dreams, and so he decided it really was best to stay away, give her a chance at her goals. In their capacity to somehow think on the same frequency, Naomi's inner opinion mirrored his, hoping that time would ease her 'crush' on him, would help her focus on her studies, her future... somehow though, they knew this would be far from easy.

T'Chea, Hannah and now Kav'ain noticed the stark change in their friend, seeing her take the days on with as much determination as a woman on a mission, but seeming unhappy at the same time. They worried and stressed over her, but she had yet to say anything.

As the month went by, Icheb and Naomi noticed that the time distancing themselves only served to become more and more of a burden on their hearts. Neither of them could have imagined how difficult it would have been for them, surprised by the sheer amount for virtual strangers to miss each other so much after just a week of getting to know each other again. While Icheb did all he could not to notice how elegant and beautiful she was, the way she carried herself, the way her intelligence made her sound sophisticated and yet never used it to belittle anyone. She was reserved, modest, friendly, and completely selfless. How could he not notice her? How could he have screwed up so badly?

At the same time, Naomi did all _she_ could not to notice Icheb noticing _her_. He thought he was being sneaky, but his eyes on her were familiar, she had always known when he was looking her way. It was so much different now than when they were kids though! And it just hurt all the more knowing that she could do nothing about how amazing it felt to be looked at as a woman by him. Noticed in that way by someone Naomi had begun to feel strongly about made it so much worse as they were avoiding each other now. What just added to the pain was how much Naomi had been regretting her decision to distance herself from him, but no matter how many times she tried to catch his eye, he would not acknowledge her in the least.

So Naomi resolved to focus on her studies, working hard to put Icheb out of her mind, pretend that it was still a time she had barely been in contact with him. She poured herself into her work, taking on greater assignments, getting help from different sources when she needed it, and volunteering in as many extra-curricular activities as she could. Despite all her efforts, the pang of regret, the fact she missed him now more than she ever thought she would, often times distracted her. Even so, Naomi strove for excellence, and was regularly commended for her efforts, even though she did not share her instructors' views of how exemplary she was. Naomi simply wanted to achieve her goals, and if it meant distracting her from her irritating heart ache, so be it. Naomi knew what she was feeling now, knew she couldn't deny it, but it wrecked her to give it another thought, so she pushed it from her mind and powered through.

After many more weeks of drifting by, Naomi's friends reached their limit in patience. The girls found their recently very reclusive friend as usual sitting on their dorm room, quietly 'reading' her novel. Seeing her dazed expression, barely reading the letters on the screen made their resolve to reach her harden. It was time for an intervention. Nodding to each other they walked over and promptly sat down in a showing way on either side of her. They fixed her with steady, demanding stares, hoping Naomi would open up to them on their own before they had to do anything drastic.

Naomi knew what her friends wanted, and slowly set her story down, appraising them tiredly. "What do you want from me?" she questioned harshly.

"Naomi, please talk to us?" Hannah began gently.

"About what?" Naomi retorted.

"You're the one that knows what it is you need to talk about," T'Chea countered almost impatiently, ignoring the disapproving look from their fully human friend.

"There's nothing to talk about," Naomi went back to reading her novel. Or more accurately, reading the same paragraph repeatedly.

" _Naomi_ ," Hannah stressed pleadingly. "You've been practically drifting from class to class, _day by day for over a month!_ " she said in exasperation.

'A month and nineteen days,' Naomi thought silently. "There's nothing wrong," she repeated quietly.

Why was she so stubborn about this? Why couldn't she just tell them? Was she afraid of how they would react? If they would judge her? "Naomi, it's gotten to the point that, even though you're with us physically, you're not _really_ with us. You've been distant and honestly it kind of hurts. We miss our cheery, witty friend," Hannah implored.

"T'Chea, do you feel the same? Have I really been distant from you guys?" Naomi asked with a sad frown. She hadn't realized her turmoil would spill into her interactions with her other friends!

"Yes, Naomi. Hannah's description is valid," the Romulan nodded solemnly.

"I... I'm so sorry," Naomi felt the now familiar prickling sensation of tears threatening to break out. She had come to care so deeply for her friends, the idea that she had estranged them, hurt them, was too much for her wounded emotions to bear.

"Naomi, please please tell us what's wrong?" Hannah begged, feeling her own tears threatening to spill.

Their gentle persuasions finally broke her, and Naomi felt her restrained emotions suddenly clog her throat. "I... okay..." Naomi hesitated. "Please don't tell anyone? You must swear, swear on the Federation if you have to that you won't tell a soul. If it were to get out that... well, if it were to get out, my future in Starfleet won't be the only career on jeopardy."

"You have absolutely nothing to fear from us, Naomi," T'Chea promised. "I swear on Romulus that I will not betray your trust."

"Me too... on the Federation, that is," Hannah smiled weakly.

"Okay," Naomi let out a breath, pausing to collect her thoughts. "You... weren't off when you teased me at the beginning of the term that I had a crush on... on Icheb," she began. T'Chea bit her lip, doing her best not to say that she knew it out loud. Naomi was grateful for her restraint, and grateful that Hannah was keeping her fits of girlishness in check. "I didn't realizing it completely at the time. I thought it was just a passing fancy, it was just Icheb, you know? I described him like he was on Voyager, that had been my... my initial thought of him before. He was just a friend, a dorky, awkward friend. I had no idea he would turn into such a complex... _man_." Naomi rubbed her PADD that now rested on her lap, trying to soothe her nerves.

"I've been... I've been slowly falling in _love_ with him... probably since I knew him," she smiled humorlessly, as though she was still unable to believe it herself. "It's only recently that my maturity would catch up with my body, my initially girly crush to develop into something deeper. I... I pushed him at arms length, refused to recognize my feelings and make him frustrated by my denial. I know he must feel something too, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to push back as hard as he did. But we had a fight... a terrible fight and we said such terrible things to each other..!" Naomi's tears freely fell down her cheeks now and she scrubbed angrily at them. "I-It's killing me..." she shuddered as a sob threatened to escape her. She felt, probably Hannah's hand running gentle comforting circles on her back, but couldn't focus correctly.

To distract herself, Naomi decided she needed to move around, work what had been holed up inside her out physically. Hannah and T'Chea watched as Naomi stood and began to pace in agitation. "I've been trying all month to convince myself that nothing was wrong, that everything was okay and we'd eventually become friends again, but _I can't_!" Naomi couldn't have imagined how important Icheb would have become to her. Who could blame her? Ten years and nothing, and then suddenly they had an undeniable connection. Now she couldn't get past a month without alienating everyone from her over a fight with him. How could she have fallen so hard so fast for him? "It's unethical," she insisted. "It's very frowned upon for us to be to-...together... and I had a fight with him for that very reason. How could I tell him how I felt though? How could I risk making it harder for us? Distracting us?"

"You're pretty miserable and distracted now, you know... maybe it would have been easier if you gave in?" Hannah questioned gently.

"Maybe," Naomi relented. "It's too late now though."

"It's never too-"

Naomi cut off her well meaning friend. "It's _too late,_ " she insisted stubbornly. "We're so angry and so stubborn that we can barely be in the same room! I screwed up my chances of being friends with him! He hates me and resents me now, I... I know it. It's... it's the only reason I can think of to explain why he's being so cold..." Naomi had worked herself up into fits but felt her rapidly uncontrolled emotions quickly spending her energy. The half Ktarian collapsed back onto the couch, her face falling to her hands as her body twisted forward. "He hates me... I lost him..." she tore out, finally losing the battle with herself she had been fighting all month and allowed the mournful sobs from pouring out of her.

Hannah, her own tears steaming down her face, pulled her friend to her lap, rubbing her back and cooing soothingly at her. T'Chea folded her hands in her lap and gazed with heartfelt sympathy and sadness at her sorrowful friend. They were equally crushed by the severity of her friend's emotional struggle, knowing that their friend's unwilling spiral into love for man whose relationship couldn't happen in the academy tore her to bits. It was cruel of fate to bring old friends together again and force them to fall in love like that, only to laugh in their faces at their struggles with _regulations._ Naomi had cried herself to sleep in Hannah's arms, but neither girl had the heart to move their friend from the couch and wake up.

The next morning, Naomi woke up groggily, as early as always, but this time stayed in the dorm. She pulled herself off of the couch and slumped onto her bed, letting herself fall back and closed her eyes. Emotional weariness took ahold of her and she found herself lost on Voyager again, seeing old friends and laughing with them. She missed her birth home so much, missed the comforting familiarity of it, strength of its powerful walls and innocent times it held. Oh sure, there had been some pretty righteously scary stuff, but they had always persevered. Before she knew it, she was being nudged awake. Opening her eyes she found her roommates giving her sympathetic smiles. They were dressed and ready to go. How long had she dozed off for? "It's alright Naomi, you're not late," T'Chea mentioned in her usual unnervingly accurate way of telling what was on Naomi's mind. "You're an open book," the girl's lips quirked into an amused smile.

"Do you want us to wait for you to get ready?" Hannah asked.

"Nah, you girls go on ahead. I want a nice hot sonic shower," Naomi shook her head. The girls understood Naomi's need to clear her thoughts and left without another question. Naomi sighed in relief and made her way to the bathroom. She stripped and stepped into the sonic shower, letting the soothing pulses of the sonic vibrations relax her. It might night have been water, but it was still nice. Once she was clean, she got dressed, trying to keep her mind clear and focused on each minute task. If she was going to get through that day without letting... anyone, know about her little break down last night, she was going to have to take control again. Nodding to herself in satisfaction with the ability to get herself together, the former Captain's Assistant went back to the day's routine.

That night, Naomi arrived at home with a stressed sigh, collapsing back on the couch. She tried not to let Icheb's icy demeanor get to her. It wasn't just his fault that he was being so distant, it was _her_ suggestion, after all. She just hadn't realized how much it would _hurt._ A little later, the girls found Naomi in much the same manner they had the previous night, on the couch, a PADD in her hand. This time, though, Naomi stared off into space, her device left forgotten against her curled legs. Hannah at least was prepared this time though! Plopping the item she had carefully carried over since obtaining it at the local grocery story in front of Naomi, she sat down and waited for her friend to notice them.

"Hannah," Naomi finally acknowledged, coming to.

Hannah smiled amiably and motioned with a nod toward the coffee table. "That's for you."

Naomi looked down at the odd little container and then her eyebrow popped up. "...Ice cream?"

"Not just any ice cream! _Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough_ ice cream! A girls best friend when she's having boy troubles, no matter what century," Hannah grinned. Naomi laughed out loud, easing her friends as a result. It was the first time in more than a month since Naomi laughed so freely.

"Thank you, Hannah!" The girl grinned and took the offered spoon. Fortunately for Hannah, she made the right choice bringing her a dessert. Since she was little she had found comfort in sugary things when she felt upset.

"I also thought that maybe a cheesy movie would make your night all the better?"

"Maybe," Naomi's lips quirked up again.

"I will never be able to understand human females and their illogical fixation with ingesting such a large quantity of sweets just because they are upset," T'Chea shook her head.

"Careful _Chea,_ you're almost starting to sound Vulcan," Naomi mumbled as she dug into her ice cream with Hannah.

"...Nevertheless, the sentiment remains the same," T'Chea said, trying not to find offense at being compared to her emotionally repressed biological cousins.

"T'Chea," Hannah sighed. "You wouldn't understand, you've never felt heartache."

T'Chea shook her head, still not convinced but sat by them anyway. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm... I'm going to try to fix this," Naomi said resolutely. "I'm not..." Going to lose him like this? Stay away from him for another ten years? Naomi shook her head. "There has to be a way to at least come to a truce?" she reasoned. She was tired of being angry at him, not really remembering why she had been so angry with him to begin with.

"Hm," T'Chea nodded, agreeing with her. "Do be careful though. Don't be like my cousins and keep everything bottled up, okay? It's never a good idea to keep intense emotions inside. My people know this better than most. Just be careful, but follow your heart, okay?" T'Chea advised. Naomi was so touched by T'Chea's concern for her that the girl set the ice cream down and reached for her, pulling her into a hug. T'Chea was so surprised by the sudden physical contact that her control of her abilities slipped. All at once the Romulan was flooded with the same intense emotions she had warn Naomi not to keep to herself. Confusion. Pain. Fear. Refret. Longing. Love. Those were only some of the stronger emotions that flowed through the girl.

When Naomi pulled away, she was shocked to find their normally collected friend with tears streaming down her face. "T'Chea..." Naomi murmured in confused concern.

"I... I'm so sorry, Naomi," T'Chea muttered back, pulling all stops to regain her composure. Taking a deep breath and refocused on the girl and carefully wiped at her cheeks. "I'm _incredibly_ sorry, Naomi. When you hugged me, I was surprised and my control over my touch telepathy was lost. Please forgive me for the blatant violation of your privacy?"

"It's okay!" Naomi said honestly. "Really! It was my fault for not taking consideration of your people's ways. I didn't think."

"I should have had better control," T'Chea shook her head.

"Well... do you understand now?" Naomi ventured softly, curiously. T'Chea nodded slowly, giving her a very strong sympathetic expression. Naomi nodded in satisfaction while Hannah gave her a sad, knowing look.

The next morning, Naomi took a deep breath and approached Icheb's desk before the class began. She had hoped to catch him at the classroom early and was graced by fortune that she did. He sat there, tapping at his PADD with rapid, calculated movements. "Icheb?" She asked hesitantly. She bit her lip when he didn't even spare her a glance, though did tilt his head slightly to let her know he was listening. "Icheb..." Curse her for getting tongue tied! She took another deep, calming breath and collected herself. "It was wrong of me to say what I had," she began, feeling relief flood her when he paused his incessant tapping.

It gave her the courage she needed to go on.

"I was scared over my... my feelings," she told him, still uneasy about even mentioning the _prospect_ of having any for him to begin with. Though that in itself was the problem, she knew. "You forced me to recognize them before I was ready to, and I reacted badly. I never meant to hurt you or push you away. I... I miss my tutor, my friend..." Naomi felt her heart race a little when he finally set his PADD down and looked up at her, pain flitting through his eyes. "I hope... I hope one day we could go back to being on friendly terms?"

Icheb had listened her heartfelt apology with much more than a little bit of guilt. She was blaming herself for what was _his_ fault initially. He had started all of this and she was taking it all onto _her_ shoulders! "I... was at fault too," he said softly, unsure how to properly explain himself at the moment. "Friendly terms..." he smiled weakly, "...it sounds good," he said finally.

Feeling like they had made progress, Naomi let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Then, I'll take my seat now... professor," she said, trying her hand at being playful once again. Icheb didn't say anything, went back to his PADD, but he _did_ have a little ghost of a smile on his lips.

For now, it was enough for both of them.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** As I mentioned at the start of this chapter by the lyrics, this chapter was heavily influenced by the song "Something In My Heart" by Royksopp. It seemed to reflect the direction their relationship has taken pretty well. I know I tend to focus on Naomi more than Icheb, but I hope you guys don't mind. I relate a little more to Naomi and felt easier to write her point of view. Still, I hope I'm getting Icheb's feelings across well enough.

Also, I've noticed that I put in more efforts in the inner workings of the characters than probably necessary... like a pendulum swing, I went from zero introspection, to an overload of it. I'm sorry if some of you find that difficult to read, but these first few chapters are the ones with the most, I promise. It's actually one of the reasons it's rated M, not just for _that_ , but for the fact that this story is meant for more matured readers who appreciate character development. Oh and age has nothing to do with it by the way.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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After a long day diligently pouring herself into her studies, Naomi lay on her side one night feeling completely drained. As she let herself begin to doze off, she gazed into the dark, empty room, thinking about how the last couple weeks had gone by since coming to a tentative truce with her reclusive Astrometrics professor. Maybe it wasn't fair to call him reclusive, it had been _her_ idea to limit contact with each other, after all.

While they were no longer angry at each other, they went by greeting each other as any polite instructor and student would, though pretty regularly. They no longer went out of their way to spend time with each other though. No more breakfasts and no more stopping to spend any amount of 'unnecessary' time with each other outside of class... even though there had been a few more accidental 'bumps', some few occasions where they had the opportunity to... well, to just be friends!

They had tried once, greeted each other and asked about their day, but one wrong move or one lingering gaze that was a little more than just friendly had brought the tension back. They were trying to be friendly, really, but something had changed and it was very difficult to go back to how they were before.

Naomi turned, watching the lights of a craft fly by through her slightly cracked blinds, painting the dark room blue. Did they want to go back to how they were? Somehow it didn't feel like either of them did, felt almost like they continued to fight the system, wanting more. Naomi could not let herself believe that... if she did... she shut her eyes, hoping her truce with him would eventually bear fruit anyway.

It was on a quiet rainy night that something changed.

Naomi was spending the evening watching an old movie with her roommates after their plans of going out had been disrupted by the weather. The movie had put the other two girls asleep but Naomi had found the intense familial interactions of the characters, despite not being related, very familiar and very comforting. It was only after the movie shut off that Naomi noticed a light on her computer flashing. Turning the lights on to not trip over her friends in the dark, Naomi quietly padded her way over to the bed where the computer rested and sat down. To her surprise, it was from Icheb. Naomi tried not to get over excited, tried not to notice how her heart sped up instantly, instead she carefully settled more comfortably over the bed and opened the message.

" _Naomi Wildman,"_ was the standard start it seemed to Icheb's emails. Sure he could have gone with Cadet Wildman, Ms. Wildman, or anything else more professional, but he had started in what she suspected was his usual friendly way of greeting her. The thought relieved her and made her smile. She looked over to see that her friends were still napping on the couch and made herself comfortable with her computer on her lap.

" _I know what I need to say is a little late, but I hope you'll hear me out all the same. I have to apologize, not just for being so forceful at trying to get information out of you, but for getting us to the point where we would shout at each other."_ Naomi frowned in confusion. What was he talking about? Getting them to that point? She didn't remember him doing anything to set anything off? Sure he had been a bit more... _audacious_ than she remembered him ever being, a bit more forthcoming, but it was just a natural way any man would have reacted to a girl he- now very obviously -found attractive. Naomi flushed, finally coming to terms that he _did_ in fact find her attractive, but still finding it unexpected, startling.

" _I value our friendship. I value our memories of how well we got along in the past. I value my goals, and I value your dreams. I value_ you _and I hope my exaggerated need to get what you may or may not feel for me in return or not out has not completely destroyed everything."_ Naomi shifted in her bed, taken by surprise by the strength in his convictions, the intensity of what he must be feeling. Even through an email, Icheb manged to make Naomi feel lightheaded.

" _My apology is not just for my past actions, however. I must apologize for recent infractions. I neglected to tell you that I had a visit from Seven about a month ago. She arrived with news that they recently received good news over Project Delta Quadrant. That is the name they are using for the mission to stabilize a wormhole to that part of the galaxy. She said that results of the project looked promising and that Neelix agreed that if they could stabilize one, he would be willing to crossing over to visit us. To visit you."_ Naomi felt the excitement over the prospect of seeing her godfather again tempered by his next words.

" _I withheld the information from you for a month out of spite. I realize that now. I feel terrible for how I have treated you and appalled by my behavior. Not only is it unbecoming of a Starfleet Officer, but also as a friend. Naomi, please forgive me. I eagerly awaiting your response._

 _Your hopeful and repentant friend,_

 _-Icheb."_

Naomi stared at the letter for a moment longer, a wide range of emotions battling in her heart. She was confused, sad, happy, excited, and longing, all at once. She wiped the errant tears that escaped her eyes and immediately set to email him back, not wanting him to take all the blame and wanting to get her thoughts across to him. She _just still_ couldn't tell him how she felt. It was just... too difficult.

What if he didn't feel the same? What if things got bad again if she said anything? She couldn't risk it, no matter how much her heart ached to tell him. Swallowing thickly, attempting to dislodge the emotional turmoil from her throat, Naomi shook her head and forcibly cleared it. No, she would focus on apologizing, focus on getting back to a good place with him.

" _Icheb,_

 _I'm not sure I understand why you think all of this is your fault, it's not. I was the one to suggest meeting regularly. I was the one to push you away when you started showing interest in me. I was the one that refused to admit anything to you. And I was the one to suggest we stay apart. If anyone should feel apologetic, it's me. However... I can agree that we're_ both _to blame in part for all of this. I just want you to know again that I miss you and shouldn't have pushed you away. I miss you now more than I had when we were apart for ten years! And yes, you're probably wondering, I_ am _blushing like a full blooded Ktarian at admitting such a thing. Nosy."_

Naomi paused and tried to shake away the irritating blush.

" _I was overly sensitive before and maybe we got off on the wrong hand. We're nearly strangers and we tried to act like we've been pals for years. Could we start over? Would that be alright?"_ Naomi hesitated in writing what she was about it, knowing the suggestion she had in mind was what started it all to begin with. But one more couldn't hurt, right? Just one?

 _If you're not opposed to it, could we meet up again one of these days? For old times sake? Just so we can try and get past whatever happened between us and move on?_

 _Your equally to blame friend,_

 _-Naomi Wildman."_

Naomi hesitated a second before finally hitting the send key and waited impatiently for his reply. She bit her lip, shifting where she sat. Two minutes. Nothing. Naomi looked over to her friends, wondering if she should wake them so they could go to their beds. They seemed comfortable enough though so why bother? Eight minutes. Nothing. She let out a breath of impatience and decided just sitting here wasn't working. She went back to her computer, trying to distract herself with games at least.

Naomi wasn't really the type to play silly computer games, finding holodeck simulations much more stimulating, but if it could distract her from her impatience for only a moment, she would play anything. She was just getting into one of her mystery games when she was alerted to a message. Shutting the game off without even bothering to save her progress, Naomi opened the message and smiled happily when it was a reply.

" _Naomi,"_ said girl blinked in surprise that he hadn't added her last name, but grinned all the same. It just meant he was relaxed, and that was just fine with her.

 _"You probably don't realize how relieved your prompt reply made me. I apologize for the delay, I was indisposed and could not answer."_ Naomi had to wonder why he meant by that. Indisposed as in naked in the shower or indisposed as in simply in another room doing something? Bad Naomi, now was not the time to picture him in the shower! Naomi physically shook the images again once more and returned to the message.

 _"Your suggestion is agreeable. Tomorrow I will be busy in the morning, but if you're amendable, the next day I am free. If it's 'old times' then I hope the same place and time works for you._

 _Until then,_

 _-Icheb."_

Naomi lay back over her bed with a relieved sigh. He had agreed! She had been worried he'd disagree, figuring meeting up like that would be a bad idea, as she had mentioned it has all started with it. Naomi resolved to putting it out of her mind and try to get some rest. She didn't know how things would be the next morning, after they both revealed so much to each other that night. Setting her computer on her desk by her bed, Naomi pulled her clothes off and settled in bed. She shut her eyes and attempted to count sheep, as her mother had suggested she do many times when she had been little. Try as she may though, the exciting prospect of fixing her friendship with Icheb, or at least attempting a new one, was much too stimulating for her to sleep. After an hour with no positive results, Naomi decided to get up and prepare some tea.

As she made her way to the kitchen, she hoped she wouldn't disturb her slumbering friends. They were still knocked out from the movie. T'Chea was quietly and calmly leaned back, her Romulan features relaxed in her sleep. Hannah was half slid off the couch, her body twisted slightly to cushion her head against the couch while her arms were half-hazardly flung about her. Naomi rolled her eyes fondly at her friends once again and went back to preparing her tea. Once she had it, she sat at the common area dining table and sipped it quietly. What was it going to be like? Would she and Icheb just pick up where they left off before it all got too weird? Or would they start completely over? Hi my name is Naomi Wildman, remember me- sort of thing? Maybe something in between? Whatever it was, one thing was certain, Naomi eagerly anticipated it.

That next day, after getting in a solid three hours of sleep, Naomi paused at the entrance to the class room, her heart fluttering annoyingly at seeing him standing there, smiling and nodding at what one of his students was excitedly telling him. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe that she was allowing herself to finally see him like a man, rather than the awkward teen he used to be, rather than someone she had been upset with. Whatever the reason, he looked especially handsome that morning, hair neat, back straight, presence strong. His relaxed expression and familiar stance was so soothing, and at the same time, so much more. Naomi pursed her lips, imagining herself taking a flyswatter and swatting away her distracting thoughts, before adjusting her bag and making her way to her seat.

If Icheb noticed her looking at him that morning, he made no show of it. Naomi settled in her seat and listened to his lesson. It didn't seem like he was avoiding looking at her that morning, but he wasn't looking at her. Could she have misunderstood him in the email? Maybe she was just being obsessive and hyper aware of his every move. Damn her and her silly female reactions.

After class, Icheb finally did look her way and smiled lightly. "See you tomorrow, Naomi Wildman," he said simply as she walked by him.

Naomi gave him a subdued, yet still tentatively playful smile. "Likewise, professor Hansen," she murmured. The worry in her heart slowly eased away.

T'Chea and Hannah had noticed the change in their roommate that morning. It was odd, how drastic her demeanor had shifted, but at least it shifted into the right direction. All the same, once they were all back at the dorm, Hannah's loud curiosity got the better of her. "You seem really happy lately," the girl smiled cheerfully.

Naomi was seated on her bed, PADDS in hand and scattered about her. "Have I?" Naomi questioned innocently, not even glancing up from her studies.

Hannah tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what was so different. "All smiles and back to joking. What's with the change?" she asked curiously, moving to sit with Naomi on her bed. The girl's body weight shifted her PADDS around, successfully disrupting Naomi's order.

Naomi shook her head but didn't complain. "Not sure I know what you mean!" she teased, peeking up through her lashes playfully.

"Oh come on, Naomi, what is it?" T'Chea asked then. She had been in their small kitchenette preparing tea, listening to the girls talk, or rather Hannah question Naomi and the half Ktarian avoiding answering.

Naomi smiled and turned to her friends. "Alright alright," she set her PADDS down. "Icheb agreed to start over with me," she told them, trying to keep her voice level.

"That's fantastic!" Hannah all but squealed, being the sappy romantic type.

"Don't get too excited, it's just as friends," Naomi told her. "He agreed to meet up with me tomorrow for breakfast, to catch up and try to fix things," she added, again trying not to let her excitement bubble forth.

"Be careful, Naomi. Don't let your eagerness get ahead of you, escalate things too far and let what happened to you two happen again," T'Chea warned gently.

"I know," Naomi nodded. "I know, but I'm still excited."

"And you should be!" Hannah agreed, sappy grin splitting her face.

"I missed him," Naomi sighed. She felt like she could go as far as say her heart ached for him, but didn't want to make herself _too_ over the clouds. She had a reputation as a collected and rational woman to keep, after all! Hannah leaned over and hugged her, the girl all but sighed dreamily at how romantic it was, which T'Chea simply shook her head at. The Romulan might have now understood the extent of Naomi's feelings, but she still didn't understand the recklessness humans and half humans alike displayed when it came to matters of the heart. Naomi all but paced herself to sleep that night, figuring if she was going to have trouble sleeping, she could at least get in a little cardio?

So much for rational _or_ collected.

The next morning, Naomi resisted childishly throwing the covers off of her and running to get ready. She wasn't some kid anymore, excited to see some crush or _whatever_ he was to her. Instead, she took a breath and carefully got up like a reasonable adult. The only reason she was moving across the room quickly was because the floor was cold. Right.

Very precisely, she took her time to get ready, knowing there was no real need to rush. It was still early, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. Delaying her excitement, Naomi took her shower and neatly prepared her clothes and usual amount of makeup. She would not dress special, not wear any unnecessary amount of glamour. This was a meeting between friends, this was a normal morning and there was no need to make any sort of special efforts. She would not let herself get carried away, damn it!

As she made her way through the familiar streets, smiling as friendly as she could, so early in the morning, to passer-biers, she finally made it to the familiar diner. Once again, she halted at the entrance and bit her lip. Regaining her slipped composure, she forced herself to take the necessary steps that would lead her in. She found him sitting in his usual spot and calmly walked over. "Good morning, Icheb," she greeted him warmly.

Icheb turned to her and stood from his seat. "Naomi Wildman," Icheb greeted her with his own smile. They stood there for a moment and Naomi had to fight the urge to go over and hug him.

"I thought we went over this already, no need to stand to greet me. That's too formal," Naomi ventured to tease.

"Yes, but I figured new beginnings and all, I could stand to show a little chivalry," Icheb responded, his lips peeking up. "Would the Lady care to join me?" he asked playfully.

Naomi calmed down and relaxed her shoulders from how tightly she had held herself since he stood to greet her. He really was trying though. "The Lady would," she agreed, walking over and sitting in her spot. The waitress was over before they knew it and they ordered their drinks and meals. Despite wanting to start over, the tension between them was as strong as it had ever been.

At first, neither really knew what to say. Should they bring up what they had revealed in their emails? Too soon? Should they talk about whatever was new to them those days? It was evident how rusty they were with each other. "Um," Naomi shifted uneasily, trying to find a way to break the awkwardness. In the end, she decided looking to the future was the best route to take. "So do you have any plans for Spring break?" she finally asked, honestly curious. "It's going to be a month long, right?"

Icheb visibly relaxed and leaned back in his seat. "Yes. A bit unusual, but it is going to be extended in order for over due maintenance of the academy. I honestly hadn't thought about it actually," he told her. Naomi tried not to react to how good it felt to hear so much of his voice again.

The waitress then chose to bring them their coffees and they slipped into silence again. "What did you usually do during your breaks?" She asked then, shifting her cup of coffee in her hands.

"I spent them either with Seven, helping her in her research or at her aunt's house with her, or simply remained here." Icheb had thought of maybe visiting Seven's aunt, but felt the idea of going there without his adopted mother kind of strange. It wasn't like he didn't get along with the woman, it was just that he hadn't ever really gone over there without Seven. Showing up suddenly might be a bit awkward. He told her as much. Then again, he was beginning to be intimately familiar with the feeling. "What about you? What are your plans?"

Naomi's face split into an excited smile. "I'm going with my mom and dad to Ktaris!" she told him, the earlier unease fading in favor of her excitement to see her father's home planet again. Ktaris was very similar to Earth in many ways. They both had large continents surrounded by blue oceans, full of vegetation and wildlife. They were both around the same size, and both orbited their sun at the same distance. That made sleep cycles much easier. The added bonus was that Ktaris was in a system with one sun, like Earth, making the planet's temperature pleasant in most places.

What was different about the planet made it exciting. The plants were alien looking compared to most of the ones on Earth, some being enormous mushroom like trees, some being bio-luminescent flowers, fields of them that shone brightly in the night. On top of that, it had vastly different animal species. Some of them were terrifying looking, others beautiful, and still others beautiful in their frightening appearance. It was exciting to explore. Naomi explained all of her adventures discovering new things with her dad while there the first time, and how his family had a house up in the snowy mountains. The house was built to resist the storms and hail that frequented the landscape.

"That sounds a like a lot of fun," Icheb smiled fondly.

Having successfully broken the glacier between them, the two began to talk about their plans for the Spring, for the end of the term, and for their future careers. They tactfully avoided talk about plans for _them_ , knowing it was too early to bring that up. Through their _thankfully_ friendly chat, they realized a number of things. The first was that they were beginning to relax and truly move one. The second was that their interactions were not as they were before, at the beginning of the term. The third was that they discovered that the way things seemed to be heading, they didn't really care how things were at the start. Hopefully this time things would go by easier, smoother, things would be better than before.

They ended their morning on a lighter tone, agreeing that they could put their dispute behind them and carry on as friends. Even so, as they quietly made their trek back, they felt the tug of something between them, like a physical electrical field of energy pulling them close while at the same time shocking them. The lingering feeling of longing reigned supreme, un-tempered by their efforts to ease things between them. They knew this was something that they would have to deal with, but for now, they were simply relieved to be on such cordial terms once again.

What the future held now was a mystery to them both, but one thing was for sure, they would make it work this time.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** This chapter was influenced a little by the song "All These Things" by MMOTHS. By the way, I just saw _Star Trek Renegades_. It was kind of... well, okay for a fan film it had some pretty neat effects.

Also, let's just say I'm a pretty big fan of Icheb now haha, they made his character pretty _badass._ Not to mention I have a better appreciation for the _actor_. In the film, Icheb has gone through some pretty terrible things, turning him into a mercenary-like space pirate with anger issues and pretty wicked toys to threaten his enemies with. At least the image of an older Icheb is a lot easier to deal with, since there now IS an older Icheb to make very nice mental references to.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Before they knew it, another two months had gone by and the extended Spring Break was finally upon them.

Leading up to the many weeks until their break, Naomi and Icheb met only once a week for breakfast, never going further than having a friendly conversation or helping each other out academically. Even so, without either realizing it, they had become closer than they had expected during this time. They both longed for more at the very same time however, although neither of them brought it up, it often times led them to uneasy silences, elevating the frustration between them for a moment.

Four months had gone by since they reunited, four months for them- two people who continually orbited each other like twin suns, the heat of their yearning to be with each other burning them but the gravity keeping them apart. It was a bittersweet torture that they allowed with a great deal of masochism.

During that time, Icheb would pour himself into his work and even took on research from Starfleet to help the effort into getting their man-made wormhole established. It helped to distract him, thinking of how his research and techniques would allow a wider use of the Astrometrics labs on ships. He rapidly became aware at the same time how adept Naomi was becoming in the subject, grasping the finer points in stellar cartography and grid mapping. What further impressed him was her increasing grasp on spatial anomalies, knowledge into the mechanics of sensors, and a proficiency in advanced analytics.

As a result, Icheb was very tempted to offer her a position as a TA for next semester if he chose to stay as an instructor next semester. He couldn't do that though, Icheb knew that having to work together so closely would only exacerbate their efforts to keeping things simple, at least for now. All the same, he was impressed by her progress and it made it a little difficult for him to not call on her in class often, the outcome being she was never far from his attention, despite trying to distract himself.

Naomi had been having a similar _problem_. She had taken extra steps in progressing in her classes, specifically Astrometrics, hoping it would aid her in her plans of getting back on a science vessel, such as Voyager or even Intrepid. Unfortunately, her increase in effort made it so Icheb took close notice of her. The funny thing was that she hadn't actually been _trying_ to get him to notice her! Not at all, she honestly really just wanted to be the best she could be in her classes to expedite her goals.

While others went on shopping sprees, to parties, or simply vegetated, Naomi threw herself into her studies. A future Captain had to be knowledgeable in more than just one subject, so she took on extra classes, got extra help, and worked hard at accomplishing what she sought at. It wasn't just one time that she cracked and broke down from her self established harsh study plan. She began to rely on her supportive roommates after they had insisted, getting the extra sense kicking into her and encouragement to go on. The reason she allowed this was that she did not want to allow herself to show her struggles to Icheb.

Naomi knew that if Icheb understood how hard she was working, he would try to help her... and she couldn't afford to be distracted by him. Still, the result was that they often drifted unintentionally toward each other, making their concentration slip on many occasions. It was difficult, taking things slow, but they knew that delayed gratification would only make however they chose to _enhance_ their friendship in the future all the sweeter.

Finally though, Naomi had managed to pass her midterms and could truly rest during her break. While she waited for her shuttle to arrive to take her to her mother's house, the first stop until their trip to Ktaris, Naomi said her temporary good byes to T'Chea and Hannah. The girls, as most students, were off to visit their families. Remembering that Icheb had told her he would be staying at the academy that Spring made Naomi wonder if she should invite her to Ktaris with her and her family. She knew though how _bad_ an idea that was for many reason.

One in particular though.

Naomi couldn't even imagine how awkward it would be for both of them if he showed up with her and she had to formally introduce him to her father. She could just picture it now! 'Hi dad, this is Icheb, he was once Borg, he's my instructor at the academy, and I'm hopelessly in love with him! Can he come?' Oh that'd just go down splendidly! She could imagine her farther going from purple directly to ultraviolet. Snorting humorlessly, Naomi reluctantly remained silent about it, simply wishing the Brunali professor a pleasant Spring break instead.

Icheb, on the other hand, wondered what he would do. Seven was off world, on her research assignment, and as he mentioned to Naomi, he didn't really know the other former Borg's aunt too well to just drop by. He had mentioned staying, but he wondered if it'd be a good idea to visit old friends? People from Voyager maybe? In the end though, he stuck to his original idea of remaining. He'd benefit from the solitude to work on his own research, put in some extra help to Project Delta Quadrant, prepare for his classes after Spring break, and of course, think of his renewed 'friendship' with Naomi when time allowed. Like, _all the time_. The past months he and Naomi hadn't exactly interacted as closely as that first week, but there was a significant improvement to their relation with each other.

They finally got past being strangers and begun to bond more, probably closer than advisable. They were on much friendlier terms, meeting each other every week to 'catch up' and went back to greeting each other a bit friendlier than simple instructor and students probably should. Still... he pined for his friend in more ways than he cared to admit, and would miss her company dearly. He still felt guilty for what they had gone through, and knew he needed to make it up to her. He decided then that when she returned, he would strive to be an even better friend.

During most of the break, Naomi had had a fantastic time with her parents. They had stayed at her dad's family lodge on Ktaris, doing the Ktarian equivalent of skiing and mountain climbing. Naomi hadn't felt as sore as she did during that month in her life! Far greater than even in basic training! Still, it was exhilarating and excellent work out. She had marveled at her toned figure, though had gotten caught checking her improved figure out in the mirror by her dad, which had embarrassed the living daylights out of her. As usual, her dad had simply patted her on the arm and told her he was proud of her progress. Gah, parents! Even so, it was a very nice bonding experience for all of them.

Unfortunately, her father had been called back to Deep Space Nine a little over a week before Naomi's break was to end, so they had to make their trek back to Earth to drop her off. Her mom had offered for Naomi to stay with her for the remainder of the time, since she too was on leave for about the same amount of time, but in the end Naomi wanted to get back for an early start at her assignments.

Arriving back at the academy, Naomi thanked the shuttle operator and hefted her bag over her shoulder. She had refused her parents aid in helping her settled back in, and made her way back to her dorm on her own. As she walked into her room, her mind drifted to Icheb, wondering if he had stayed after all or had gone away for the break. Brushing him out of her mind- or attempting to- Naomi set off to unpacking and diving right back into her studies. It became clear to her after two hours with little progress though that she was simply too distracted to get into it at the moment. Maybe it was jetlag, maybe it was her body's refusal to end the break so soon, whatever it was made Naomi set her PADDS down and get up. Maybe a walk through the campus gardens would help her unwind?

Making her way out, she breathed in the fresh air and smiled at the peaceful tranquility of the quiet courtyard. Stepping into a familiar path led her to an interesting, though completely predictable discovery. She had once again crossed paths with Icheb. Out of every possible path she could have chosen to walk on, she had inadvertently chosen the same one he had decided to relax at and work on whatever he was working on currently. Resigning herself to her fate, and at the same time very happy to see him, Naomi walked over to him. She noticed then that what he had in his hands was an old fashion book and had to wonder if this was another gift from Kathryn. "You seem to have a lot of old timey items," she decided to say as a greeting.

Icheb almost literally jumped where he sat on the bench and snapped his head over to her. "Naomi Wildman!" he greeted her in surprise and stood from his bench quickly. He had taken a few quick steps toward her but stopped abruptly. It almost seemed like he had wanted to hug her for a moment, but refrained from doing so.

Naomi found this annoying. She had missed him a lot over the break and thought that a hug between _friends_ was completely appropriate! Taking that in mind, Naomi closed the distance and slipped her arms around his middle, hugging herself close to him. "I missed you," she said softly. The intensely sudden closeness of his strong, warm body was enough to lull Naomi into a state of nirvana. It almost felt like she was a drug addict on withdrawal, and he was her relief.

As always whenever they made contact, Icheb's response was immediate. His arms went around her quickly and pulled her close, resting his head against hers. "I've missed you as well," he murmured just as tenderly.

They remained like that for a little longer than they probably should have, conveying how the time apart had effected them. After their fight they hadn't just been emotionally and verbally distant, but physically as well. While they hadn't exactly hugged each other that much, they had been literally close to each other on many occasions. They had kept the physical distance since then, afraid of what they would do if they happened to touch again. Holding her close now, Icheb was almost worried he wouldn't be able to let her go again.

Feeling their arms around each other was electrifying, but after a bit they reluctantly separated, taking a respectable step back from each other. The urge to keep holding on was enough to leave them breathless, but settled for at least being near each other again. "I hope I didn't intrude on anything?" Naomi asked, her tone still soft as she and Icheb sat on the bench together.

Icheb noted that she was closer to him than usual and felt his heart race at the implications. He wouldn't let his hopes get too high however. "Not at all. I was taking a break from my research," Icheb explained then. He regained his composure after a pause and decided he would bring up his plans to her. "I'm glad you're here actually."

"Why's that?" Naomi titled her head to the side in question.

"I was hoping we could... expand the paradigm of our friendship a little more?"

Naomi felt her own heart race at what he could possibly mean by that, but she wasn't sure. Knowing Icheb it could simply mean saying hello to each other more often. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble of anticipation from her voice.

"Since you've returned a week early, this would give us time to spend some more time together, 'catch up' as it were." Icheb went on to explain how he had planned to be a better friend to her, and that this time together would give them the perfect opportunity to bond a little closer. Naomi wasn't sure if _bonding_ was something they needed to be focusing on at the moment, but as always it was very difficult to say no to him.

"What is your grand plan then?" Naomi finally asked, relenting to him.

Icheb told her of the places he had discovered while exploring the surrounding areas of San Francisco. Instead of revealing it all to her, he decided showing her was best. And so, they spent the week together, making up for lost time. Icheb took her to beautiful lakes, to dense forests with enormous trees that put the ones on Ktaris to shame, and pointed out a walking trail he had discovered near the campus. They went on hikes, scoured the surrounding landscape around the academy, and generally spent nearly every waking moment together. Of course, they separated at night and fought to concentrate on their respected projects. Many times their efforts in remaining close but at the same time respectably distant slipped and they almost gave into their impulses. Lingering looks, innocent brushes, each time making it harder for them to stop themselves.

On the last afternoon before their week alone was over and everyone returned, Icheb had an idea. "Naomi," he began as they walked the familiar path through the campus gardens. This was probably a bad idea, but Icheb stubbornly believed they could pull it off without anything happening. When she turned to look at him curiously, he spoke his thought. "Will you have dinner with me tonight?" he asked quietly.

"Don't we often eat dinner at the diner together?" Naomi reminded him, though the way he asked the question made her feel warm all over. Surely he couldn't mean _that._

"I mean, dinner at my apartment," he amended.

"Icheb..." Naomi bit her lip, staring intently at her boots. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Naomi fell back to jokes once again, hopefully dispelling her wild imagination. She had to be misunderstanding him. "Are you asking me on a date?" was her weak reply. _Probably_ not the best joke, but funny how the mind and the heart sometimes switched spots. Obviously her brain wasn't working at the moment.

Icheb took _entirely_ too long to respond to her joke, which only made Naomi's heart trip over itself. "You can call it what you wish," he finally said.

"I..." Naomi was at a loss for words. She knew what she had to do though, no matter how much it killed her to do so. "I... don't think that's a good idea..." she said at last.

Icheb again paused before answering, though he looked regretful. "Forgive me. You're probably right," he agreed sadly. "Still, I'd like to cook for you, if that's okay?"

"Icheb, I'm not sure," Naomi shook her head. It wasn't like she didn't trust him or anything... it was that she didn't trust _herself._

"I insist. A friendly dinner between friends, nothing more," Icheb stubbornly persisted.

Naomi let out a sigh of defeat, once again completely unable to refuse him. If they ever got closer than they were, that could become a bit of a problem! A good problem, but still a problem. And now was _not_ the time to be thinking of _that._ "Okay, but just tonight," she told him after mulling it over, trying not to think of how suggestive that response sounded. They both knew that classes started again the next day, so at least it left them a safety net to fall to if things got... complicated.

The walk to Icheb's apartment was silent for the most part, though thankfully it was a comfortable silence. The coil between them, that enigmatic electrical field that tugged at them was still very present, but it only served to make their need to be beside each other so much stronger now. Reaching the door, Icheb stepped aside and motioned for her to step in first, ever the gentleman. Naomi smiled affectionately and stepped in, trying not to let the memory of the last time she was here cloud the happy memories she was now making with him. After she set her bag down on the couch, she turned to find him standing with a box in his hands, inclined toward her as an offering.

"What's this?" Naomi asked, taking the small colorful box.

"I believe it's tradition in most cultures to give gifts during birthdays. I missed yours during the break, but I hope this gift makes up for my lack of message to you?"

"What a surprise! So that's why you wanted to cook for me so much," Naomi grinned, holding the little box close.

"I thought it'd be an appropriate birthday celebration?"

"It is!" Naomi agreed. "Can I open it?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Of course," Icheb smiled tenderly.

Naomi opened her gift and her eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you, Icheb! It's beautiful!" Her grin widened as she unfolded the delicate scarf. The quality was impressive, having many kinds of fabrics woven in, giving it a wide arrange of pattern and texture. "Oh Icheb, I don't even know when your birthday is! I feel like such a horrible friend!"

"It's not until later in the year, don't worry," he said gently. "Come, I've prepared a stew earlier today in my hopes that you would agree. It's just about finished."

"You had high hopes, didn't you?" Naomi teased.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to 'resist my charms'" he teased right back.

Naomi laughed, ignoring the flush in her cheeks at the flirt. "You're certainly sure of yourself!"

"And why shouldn't I be? An attractive guy like myself," he threw back playfully, imitating Tom Paris.

"That sounds so much like Tom!" Naomi giggled, surprised at herself for letting such a girly laugh out.

"That was the intention. I'm glad I managed to pull it off," Icheb grinned.

"First you offer to cook for me, then get me a present, now you're entertaining me! How could this day get any better?" Naomi's smile almost hurt her cheeks.

"I could always bake a cake for you?" Icheb offered. "We could make it a project?"

Naomi laughed and shook her head. "No, Icheb, please, you've already done so much! Maybe next time." Naomi did everything she could to push away memories of scenes from every romantic novel she had ever read with the mention of baking together, blushing as a result. She didn't usually read romantic novels, but had on occasion, and in many of them frosting or whip cream seemed to entice the characters into... interesting outcomes.

True to his word, Icheb's 'birthday stew' was finished within the hour, surprising Naomi again with an old, nostalgic favorite. Talaxian Surprise. The stew was Neelix's own recipe for her when she was a little girl, saying that the surprise was in the ingredient each time. On her first birthday with Icheb there on Voyager, Neelix had prepared his best Talaxian Surprise yet. Everyone had enjoyed the thick soup, even the still adjusting young Icheb.

"I attempted to approximate the flavor of the stew to the one Neelix has prepared the last time. My memory may be very good, but it may still taste a little different than you remember it," Icheb explained.

"Oh... Icheb..." Naomi was again at a loss for words. Tears of ache at how much she missed Neelix threatened to spill from her eyes. "Thank you," she said warmly, her eyes shining with tenderness. They sat down to eat and Icheb had to smile at the look of euphoria that crossed Naomi with the first bite. "Icheb, I had no idea your had such culinary skills," she told him.

"I believe Seven had mentioned once that cooking is as much a science as anything else. All it took was careful measuring and approximation of taste according to memory," he explained.

"You're brilliant, you know that?" Naomi said truthfully, sincerely believing he was one of the most brilliant people in Starfleet.

"I keep telling people that but they just don't seem to believe me," Icheb joked.

"Oh I'm sure they do. I always have, _always,_ " she said softly. They smiled sweetly at each other for a moment. Soon enough though, the steady gaze expressed more than just affection for each other, and they had to look away to try to calm down.

After their pleasant meal together, Naomi offered to help, despite knowing Icheb would attempt to refuse it in an effort to be gallant for her birthday dinner. "You don't have to," Icheb told her as predicted. "It's your birthday dinner. Besides, you're my guest. Is it not customary for the guest to relax?"

"All very true, but you've been so wonderful to me, I want to help," Naomi smiled. "It'd be rude to refuse someone of a generous offer."

Icheb knew that he wasn't the only stubborn creature in Starfleet and relented, knowing when not to argue with her. "...Very well," he nodded. "If you insist."

"I insist!"

As they moved through the kitchen in unison, as many times before, a few key things became very clear to them. They were in a very confined area. Naomi was not used to Icheb's set up of his kitchen, so she had to move around a lot more in order to find where to put anything away. Icheb was _very large_ and took up most of their already limited space there. And finally, the more they bumped into each other, the harder it became for them to concentrate on being blissfully innocent that night.

As it happened, it seemed to be in Naomi's nature to trip... at least, around him it tended to happen a lot more frequently. Gasping, Naomi felt herself stumble back, right into Icheb. The ex Borg spun around and caught her, but lost his balance at the same moment, pressing Naomi against the counter as his hands shot to stabilize himself against it behind her. They stood very still for a moment, catching their breaths and staring at each other in surprise.

Naomi was effectively pinned between him and the counter.

After a little while, Icheb was the first to relax, though he made no effort to move away this time. "You seem to fall a lot around me," he observed with amused inflection. Naomi didn't know what to say, didn't know how to react. Icheb's apt accusation was right on way too many levels. Their position brought a rush of longing to both of them, but neither of them knew what to do about it.

Naomi needed to step away, needed to breathe, needed to collect herself; she was very rapidly losing the fight with her self control around him. Icheb seemed to understand and reluctantly stepped back, helping to righten her posture when she tried to pull herself off the counter too quickly. Unfortunately, that meant she had to use him as support while he placed his hands on her hips to steady her, in effect pulling her that much closer to him.

As before, when he had caught her, Icheb had yet to let go... but this time, Naomi wasn't sure if she wanted him to. She bit her lip, her heart rushing erratically against her chest. The look in his eyes was intense, dark, and completely pulling her in. Something had changed between them again, though this time neither of them cared a single bit. Icheb's heat swirled around Naomi like an inferno, the magnitude of a breaching warp core threatening to envelop her, consume her.

Naomi could only imagine what was going through his mind right now, could see his gears working. His jaw had set, as though with determination. For what, Naomi didn't know, but she was caught by his smoldering gaze, unable to look away. Her focus on him was so strong that she failed to realize he had moved forward, leaning in, not until she felt his hot breath on her cheek. Naomi's throat went dry, her lungs becoming more strained with her difficulty breathing. Their cheeks brushed against each other as he stepped closer, pressing her against the counter once more and all but eliminating her personal space.

But then he stopped.

Naomi silently screamed in her mind at him for being such a tease.

Icheb was torn between wanting to kiss her very badly, but knowing it would completely ruin things again, destroy their resolve to focus on their work, their goals. But it was _incredibly_ difficult to resist his almost painful desires. He would have to do his best to try though, if not for himself, than for Naomi. As much as he was struggling to contain himself, at least this time, Naomi had seemed to decide that enough was enough.

Naomi was sick of holding back, at least in that second she was, and her normally rational judgment was currently an inconvenience. His closeness was intoxicating, their mutual need overwhelming. She slipped her hand up from his arm, past his wide shoulder and to the back of his head, running her fingers through his short, previously neat hair. For just a second, Naomi studied the change in this adult version of her old friend as she caressed him.

She noted for the first time that his hair was a little shorter than it had been years ago, though a few silky strands still managed to brush over his forehead rebelliously. His eyes were every bit as intense as they had ever been, subtle lines of maturity beside them. Along Icheb's chiseled cheeks, Naomi noted he had a very fine shadow, giving him that much more of a matured look. It was as though his inward rebellion to protocol was reflected in his style. Naomi was not a stranger to his good looks, but now that she had a chance to admire him up close, she felt herself flush deeply.

The cute boy had certainly gone and grown into a _gorgeous_ man.

Icheb's eyes fluttered, giving him a half-lidded, pleased expression and making her shiver from the effect of her ministrations. Naomi shifted closer, pushing herself against his chest and could feel his wildly beating heart. His previous attempts to keep his control was slipping with her obvious intentions. "Naomi..." he murmured, his hold on her tightening.

Their bodies seemed to gravitate toward each other on their own accord. All the heightened tension that had been mounting for nearly half a year threatened to swallow them whole. Their mouths parted slightly, breaths ragged on each others lips, so close, so tantalizingly close. All they had to do was move just little, reach for each other and submit to their need for each other.

Oh how they ached for each other, how they yearned to give in and let go. They knew at the very moment before they finally succumbed to their self-inflicted torture, that if they let themselves do this, it would be all but impossible to carry on in the academy. Concentration would be irrecoverably shattered. Risk of being discovered exponentially increased. They hovered, centimeters from their goal, eyes half-lidded, their bodies trembling with the effort to hold back, but not willing to risk everything to reach it. They pulled away at the last second, at the same time.

"I... I'm sorry," Naomi said, slipping from under his arm quickly, escaping his embrace lest her weak resolve break again.

"You're not the only one at fault," Icheb responded breathlessly, bracing himself on the counter.

It took them a little while to get themselves together. When they did, they decided it was time to end their little get together early, quickly before things go out of hand again, though whether or not that was a _bad_ thing was up for debate. "I'm going to walk you to your dorm," Icheb announced, stubbornly refusing room for argument. Naomi, like Icheb had earlier, knew better than to argue with him when he got _that_ persistent. Besides, she had missed him too much and could not bear the thought of parting with him on unfriendly terms again.

"Alright," she agreed, only the littlest bit of reluctance present. Getting her things and her beautiful gift, they made their way back to the academy. The air was thick with the coiled springs of tension, ready to snap at any moment. They walked silently, as though not remembering how their tongues worked... besides the way they so desperately wanted them to work at the moment.

Once they reached Naomi's dorm door, Naomi had intended on turning to him, smiling as best as she could, and saying good night... however, his hand on her arm made her pause. As was the cardio for the day, it seemed, Naomi's heart leapt to her throat, beating a mile a second as Icheb stepped close once more. The world seemed to disappear around them, their attention sharply focused on each other.

As he leaned down again, tilting his head to an angle slightly, Naomi could swear she was about to hyperventilate, her breathing ragged and heart raging. Icheb's eyes were once again half closed as he cupped her cheek, but then he tilted her head down, to the side slightly, fingers caressing her with the movement. Completing the motion, Icheb moved forward and rested a soft, slow kiss on the side of her head, just shy of her horns, putting in all his tremulous feelings for her in that single action. Naomi remained perfectly still, feeling a warm, tingling sensation spread through her body at such a tender act.

Icheb pulled away only a little, enough for his lips to brush by her ear. "I hope this night was as unbelievable to you as it has been for me," he whispered. "Good night, Naomi Wildman. I hope you have a pleasant night," he said, pulling away and smiling gently. Naomi could only nod, not trusting herself to speak. She watched him leave, the feel of his kiss still warming her. That night, Naomi tossed in bed again, her heart refusing to still. Deep, aching longing was making it impossibly challenging to sleep, more so than usual.

Getting back to classes was going to be _incredibly_ difficult for them tomorrow. Neither of them could deny that something happened this time. This time, everything was different, deeper, more complicated.

What would they do now?

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** I got inspiration from _Renegades_ to update my mental image of Icheb, having his hair style change a little to reflect the older Icheb from that "time line". I figured if that Icheb would look a little different, especially under the circumstances, this one with similar rebellious situations would mirror his other self a little. After all, the hair style Icheb had in _Voyager_ was the doctor's style he gave him, not Icheb's own preference. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Most of this particular chapter was influenced by the ambient music "Heart Release (Mirrors From Mars Remix)" by Neon Indian. It has no lyrics, but the rhythm and melody fit the theme of this chapter very well. The kitchen scene was influenced by "Pulse" by Beacon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Almost exactly five months had gone by since Naomi began her studies at Starfleet Academy. Almost half a year and things between Icheb and herself had gotten crazier than she would have ever thought possible. Alright, so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but you couldn't blame a girl for exaggerating when she felt like her frayed emotions were going to manifest physical bodies and beat her to death, could you? Or at least strangle her into unconsciousness. She could only blame her sleep deprivation so much those days.

The unexpected intensity of what had happened the previous night had all but shut down Naomi's normally finely tuned mental processes. It hadn't just been a simply bump into each other and Naomi didn't need Icheb's enhancements to tell how much he had wanted to embrace her. The feel of him pushing against her, the intensity of his eyes boring into hers, it was all painfully obvious how much he wanted to be more than friends with her.

Knowing this, if Naomi had doubts that Icheb felt anything more than a close friendship to her before, they were shot through a cannon, right out of the water now. While her heart soared with the insight, it also mourned her situation. They both knew they had to keep up 'normal' appearances, not act on their impulses, but it was going to be horribly inconvenient.

Damn him.

Okay, so maybe that was being a bit harsh, but despite her valiant attempts to focus, Naomi struggled in class, unable to get him off her mind. All she could think of was how intense the heat between them had been, how much they wanted to be with each other, and not just in an innocent way. She remembered the feel of his body against hers, his breath on her lips, hands pulling her closer... it was enough to make her squirm in her seat and receive odd looks. And then that gentle kiss on her head, carefully avoiding her horns but close enough for her to feel them ghost against them spoke volumes of his desires. How had he known she would be sensitive? How could she possibly concentrate with that on her mind? Forcing herself to focus on the class again, it was then she noticed how distracted _he_ was as well. The fact that he was clearly struggling too, as evident in the way he was currently teaching, just made it worse.

They were in _trouble_.

At the same time, Icheb had been trying so hard to concentrate that he had fallen back to a Borg-like monotone. He stood erect, PADD in hand, his knuckles almost white from how tightly he held it. Icheb was certain that he was unsettling his students, who had all grown fond of their former Borg instructor, but for the life of him he couldn't rectify his behavior. He knew he should have listened to his gut, to keep his hands off of her, to just help Naomi's balance and then step away... but he hadn't, he had nearly given in to his urge, and now they were paying the price. Again, Icheb felt guilty being the one to initiate the intimate struggle between them, but now he felt more _frustration_ toward himself than regretful. He didn't regret it, he realized, he just bemoaned their circumstances and inability to act upon their desires for each other.

After class was mercifully over, Naomi tried to avoid her roommates curious looks, knowing full well that they would have noticed the change. She grabbed her bag and hesitated at the bottom of the steps to the seats. For a second, she caught Icheb's gaze, and their eyes lingered on each other for a moment, conveying the deep struggle they felt as one. A very faint smile tugged at his lips, as though without speaking he was telling her that everything would work out. Naomi hoped it wasn't just her wishful thinking. She smiled back and left without a word, letting him prepare for his next class in peace.

That afternoon, after the suffocating morning, Icheb was in the middle of his third class that day when he was surprised to be called into the Dean's office. His students all made playful calls, joking that he must be in trouble. Icheb had smiled in amusement for only a second. Deep down, he was terrified over what this meeting could be, and of how accurate his students unknowingly were. Another instructor stood ready to take over for him; he had meant to ask the man if he knew anything, but the oblivious and friendly expression he gave him told him that either nothing was wrong, or he didn't know.

Resigned to his fate, Icheb dutifully made his way there. His worry that someone might have spotted him and Naomi in a more than friendly capacity, or even worse how they parted the night before, seized his heart. As he reached the office, he became aware of the stir and had to wonder exactly what was going on. People were being more formal and excited than usual.

"Professor Hansen?" Icheb turned to see the Dean walking over to him. He relaxed when he saw the calm, though curious look in his face. "Admirals Paris and Janeway are here to see you. They said it was important, so I allowed them to use my office for privacy. I'm not sure what's going on, but good luck in there!" The Dean gave Icheb a friendly pat on the arm.

Icheb relaxed only a little bit more. Why would the Admirals want to see him? Opening the door, he stepped in to the familiar aroma of coffee and very friendly sounding conversation. At least this let Icheb know nothing was wrong. "Sirs?" Icheb questioned, shutting the door behind him and standing at attention.

"At ease, Commander," Owen Paris told him gently.

"It's good to see you again, Icheb," Kathryn grinned, walking over to hug him. Icheb blinked in surprise by how friendly they were acting. Whatever they had to tell them must have been a good thing! His worry ebbing away, Icheb allowed himself to bend down and hug his old Captain.

"What's going on, Kate?" Icheb asked curiously. It had taken him many years to relax enough around Kathryn Janeway enough to affectionately refer to her as Kate. The fact that she was his superior many times over hadn't helped, but her firm insistent that they were like family and it was okay to do so in relaxed situations helped him.

"We have an important mission for you," Paris said in a light tone. Icheb's head tilted and he stepped closer, giving the man an expecting look. "We've been very impressed with your research and efforts in helping us with Project Delta Quadrant. Your contributions have helped us reach a point where we need someone with unique talents and expertise," he explained.

Icheb stood still for a moment, trying to understand if he heard the Admiral right. "I don't understand," he began, feeling more confused and frustrated by the second. "Am I no longer necessary? Were my efforts in Project Delta Quadrant insufficient?"

"As I said, your efforts have been more than sufficient. We're not here looking to expel you from the project, son, but ask you if you would be willing to become further involved. We've reached a milestone and need your techniques and experience to aid us," the balding Admiral explained further.

Milestone? What milestone? Had they gone and opened a wormhole? Or simply reached the sufficient amount of data to understand how they worked? "Please _elaborate_ ," he requested firmly. He was aware of how inappropriate the demand to a superior officer was, but damn it if he was getting more and more frustrated. It was enough that he was dealing with emotional strains, now he had to deal with philosophical and intellectual ones too?

Kathryn smiled at his familiar use of the word, reminding her of another former Borg. "We need your stalwart expertise with Astrometrics and anomalous readings project to help us finally open the wormhole we've been working on for the better part of seven years." she said in one long-winded sentence. "Starfleet has decided that _Voyager_ would be best suited for this, but no one seems to want to captain her. Everyone's afraid of some irrational and ridiculous notion that the ship is somehow cursed, and whoever risks taking control over it will be _whisked away_ to the Delta Quadrant! We need you, Icheb. You're the best candidate for the wormhole project and frankly the only officer with a high enough aptitude and fearlessness to take on the job."

"But... why don't _you_ captain it, Admiral?" Icheb asked formally, turning to Kathryn questioningly.

Kathryn shook her head, a wistful smile playing on her lips. "I wish I could, but it won't be appropriate. Besides, I've had my time with the old girl, it's time someone else has a turn."

"Admiral Janeway will serve on in the mission as a consultant. She has other important duties in Starfleet and, for the moment at least, will not be able to captain a ship for a while. No-," Admiral Paris shook his head, "-we need _you_. If you decide to accept this mission, Starfleet will evaluate you as a possible permanent Captain to Voyager. If the mission is a success, and you've satisfied the brass, and _me,_ you will be promoted to the appropriate rank with all its privileges and responsibilities," Paris told him.

Icheb was completely and utterly beside himself with speechless disbelief. "I... I don't know if I'm ready for such a high responsibility. I was promoted to Lieutenant Commander just last year! How could I possibly even hope to be good enough for such a task?" he questioned, a tremble in his voice.

"You're much too modest, Icheb," Kathryn said gently. "I've always thought you were brilliant, and I'm sure Admiral Paris agrees. You need to let yourself believe you can do great things and you'll find that you will be able to."

Admiral Paris nodded in agreement with Kathryn. "You are more than qualified, son," he assured him as well.

The former Borg thought hard for a good long moment. He hadn't been prepared for this, wondered if he had the prowess they basically said he had for this. Captain? So soon? Most officers were promoted to Captain well into their thirties, some not even until their forties! He was barely in his twenties. How could they be sure he wouldn't screw up as a Captain so young? Icheb wasn't stupid, we was well aware of how in fact intelligent and resourceful he was. He had excelled in all his classes, obsessed with his studies and graduated with honors. It was not mystery to him why he had been requested to teach so soon after returning from his first mission.

Thinking on it, how he had been in the academy, made him think of Naomi Wildman and her eerily similar strives. She would make a very valuable addition to his team on this. He decided then, and probably impulsively, that he would make a condition to his involvement on the mission. "I'll do it. However, I have a request."

"What's that?" Paris asked with amused curiosity.

"That Cadet Naomi Wildman be involved as well," he began, noting the surprise in their eyes but pushing forward. "Cadet Wildman has shown exemplary aptitude for exactly this kind of mission. During her stay at the academy, she has become the top of each of her classes, knows just about as I do in Astrometrics, having spent her entire stay at the academy striving to surpass every one of her and Starfleet expectation for any high ranking officer. I'll agree to take on the mission, Sirs, but only if she is allowed to assist me. I am more than certain her involvement would be a merit to the mission." Icheb remained silent after his speech and waited for their decision as patiently as he could.

Kathryn Janeway was quiet, knowing how _she_ felt about the subject. She had been following both of their progresses just as much as her colleagues had been focusing on Icheb's. They were both close to her heart and knew they were brilliant people. As such, she was too close to the matter at hand, so chose to remain quiet, looking to her associate for his answer. Owen Paris pursed his lips, thinking hard about this. It was always a risk, allowing a fresh recruit to get involved in a serious mission such as this. However, throughout Icheb's many contributions and personal involvements in the project it had become apparent that the young man had a very sturdy head on his shoulders and could be trusted. "Very well, Commander. I will allow this."

"Thank you," Icheb sighed inaudibly.

"Be warned however," Paris cut in. "Cadet Wildman will be _your_ responsibility. She is still a cadet and like any green recruit is liable to make major mistakes. She will have a supervisor watch her every move and report on her progress. She will be corrected on any mistakes she makes and expected to follow the example of her superiors every step of the way. Am I understood?"

Icheb felt an intense, unbelievable offense to the older man's nerve, questioning Naomi like that, treating her as though she were some clueless child that had to have her hand held. His impulse to defend her honor and abilities threatened to spill over, no doubt making his body tense visibly and face redden. He knew he was about to react much like he had years ago, back when Seven had been stricter and 'allotted' him and the other children a time to play Kadis-Kots. Icheb had thrown a fit when Seven had punished Azan and Rebi, all but flipping the table over in rebellion. Even then his passion had gotten him into trouble.

A sharp, knowing look from Kathryn helped to ease Icheb down however. Icheb reigned in his temper and stood straighter. "Understood, Sir," he said in a clipped tone. "I will watch over Cadet Wildman personally. I assure you that the mission will be a success and she will bring valuable results to the research," he insisted.

Admiral Paris liked the kid's spunk. "We'll see," he said in amusement.

"If that will be all, Sirs, I should get back to my classes."

"Of course, Icheb, but before you go, I believe you should take this," Kathryn handed Icheb a little brown box. Icheb took it and held it at his side, not opening it, knowing what was inside.

"You will be expected to report to Stardock this Wednesday at 09:00 hours for transport. Your classes will be taken over by Professor Matthews, who has been asked to return for the duration of the mission until we can find a more suitable replacement," Paris told him. Apparently, even the brass was tired of the old man's negative attitude when he taught.

"Yes Sir," Icheb agreed.

"See you on Voyager, _Captain,_ " Kathryn smiled. Icheb let himself smile a little before heading to the lounge to think before he headed back to his class, knowing his first was most likely close to being over anyway. Captain Icheb... it had a nice ring to it. Naomi had not been the only one with aspirations to serving on the bridge, he just hadn't imagined he'd get the opportunity so soon! He just hoped Naomi wouldn't be upset over this. Icheb was well aware of how much she had wanted this before he had.

Back at the dorm, Naomi let out a sigh of relief when she got back to her supportive and loving bed. 'Hello, dear friend,' she joked weakly as she let herself collapse upon it. When Icheb had been called out, Naomi had done all she could to not outwardly show the intense panic she felt. Had they discovered them? Was his career and her future one over now?

The class took way too long to finish for Naomi's liking, but when she had asked the substitute what had happened, all he said was that there were Admirals there to see Icheb about a mission. Naomi had relaxed from the worry, but now she wondered how this was going to affect them. Would he go on his mission and completely forget about what had happened, carry on and not look back? Naomi knew that if it was important to him, she would support him any way she could... even if it meant sacrificing her feelings.

"You okay there, Naomi?" Hannah looked over at her friend from painting her toes in curiosity. "It took you a bit to get back. Have anything on your mind?" she asked carefully.

Naomi lifted herself up and appraised her friends, seeing their curious worry over how she was behaving. "It's... kind of personal," Naomi began, sitting properly on her bed. "If I tell you, you have to make the same promise you had before, okay?"

"Naomi, you should know by now that we'll never betray your trust," T'Chea scolded gently, sitting on one of the chairs nearby to listen properly. Like many times before, Hannah sat by her on Naomi's bed, nodding in agreement.

"Alright," Naomi nodded. Naomi told her friends of the last week she and Icheb had together. She explained how close they got, after putting their fight between them, not letting it stand in the way of their friendship, or budding... whatever it was between them. She told them of the night before, how they had almost given in and kissed. She told them of their worries that they could get caught and expelled... or worse. Naomi told them of the fright she, and most definitely Icheb, had felt when he was called to the Dean's office, and how if he's asked to go away... it would leave their whatever a mystery.

"It's... so romantic," Hannah pretended to sigh dreamily before grinning playfully.

Both T'Chea and Naomi rolled their eyes. As the perpetual voice of reason to her, T'Chea had her own input to voice. "Be careful how you handle this, Naomi. I don't want to see my friend kicked out or our charming professor arrested just because he couldn't keep it in his pants," she said bluntly.

Naomi turned a Ktarian shade of red at the implication. "I'm _not_ under age you know!" she hissed.

While Hannah laughed, T'Chea merely shrugged. "I can never tell with Ktarians," she said simply.

The next morning, things seemed even more coiled than they had the day before, but something was different. Naomi didn't know what to make of it, Icheb seemed preoccupied, distant. Something to do with his mission, she was sure of it. When the class was over, Naomi was surprised by the seriousness in Icheb's tone when he asked her to stay, needing to talk to her about something. As usual, Naomi stood and waited for the class to thin out, giving her friends a reassuring smile as they left with questioning looks.

"What's going on, Icheb?" she asked, disregarding the earlier poignant sense of sexual tension between them in favor of curious concern.

"I have been asked to go on a mission for Starfleet," he began, his hands folded behind him.

"I heard," she told him. "May I ask what it is?"

"It's a mission to oversee the establishments of the wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. I am to evaluate its success, assess any problems that may occur, and initiate it with the help of newly developed technology installed on the ship," he explained. "They promoted me to Captain temporarily, until I can prove I have what it takes to deserve the rank and bypass the rank of Commander. The... the ship I will be captaining is ...Voyager," he revealed tentatively.

"Oh, Icheb, that's fantastic! Congratulations!" She said, completely sincere about it, though couldn't keep the homesickness from her voice.

"There's more..." Icheb said, a smile tilting his lips up, relieved she was not upset and eager to giver her the pleasant news. "I hope this will make up for taking the position before you had the chance but... I have asked for you to be allowed to participate, and they agreed. If you agree to help me on the mission, you'll be allowed to work as a crewman in Astrometrics," he told her, a hopeful look in his eyes. "If... if you want to."

"Yes!" Naomi all but jumped up and down. "Of course I do! Thank you so much!" She grinned. She had taken a few excited steps to hug him, but as she neared him, the fire that had irrevocably stirred to life between them the night before had raged between them in that second. "I... better go then, to my other classes..." Naomi hesitated. "Congratulations again, Icheb..." she said, taking a few nervous steps back.

"Yes. I'll..." Icheb cleared his throat. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naomi Wildman," he said gently.

"Right," Naomi nodded and left quickly, forcing herself not to look back at him.

Later that evening, Naomi hesitated before entering her dorm, hearing her friends arguing over something or other. Kav'ain's name came up, but Naomi wasn't really focused on their dispute at the moment. "Hey... guys?" Naomi began, drawing their attention.

"What's up, Naomi?" Hannah asked, her voice slightly strained.

"You two okay?" Naomi carefully asked, putting her need to tell them the news in order to try to help if she could.

"Yeah... T'Chea was just _reminding me_ that wasting money on _frivolous_ things is _illogical,_ " Hannah huffed. That was odd, it was usually really difficult to rile the normally cheery girl up.

"I was merely trying to-" T'Chea was cut off.

"It's none of your business anyway," Hannah frowned.

"Alright alright," T'Chea put her hands up. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm... sorry" she apologized reluctantly.

"...Fine," Hannah relaxed. "Apology accepted."

Naomi was completely confused by this, T'Chea had always felt entitled to give her intellectual opinion on something. Whatever this was seemed very important to Hannah. It looked like she was about to miss her opportunity to talk about her own important news however, as Hannah was headed to the bathroom with her bag of makeup. It always took her one to two hours to apply it all on and Naomi had planned on speaking to them before dinner. "Hey could you hold on for a sec? I have something I need to talk to you girls about."

Hannah paused and turned to her. "Is this about what was up with the professor being called off this morning?"

"Yes," Naomi nodded.

"Were you caught?" T'Chea asked, her eyes widening with worry.

"No no, relax. Just let me explain without interruptions, okay?" When the girls nodded, Naomi went on. She explained to them the situation, how Icheb had been promoted to Captain to Voyager and asked to lead a mission to open a wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. On top of that, he had asked the Admirals to allow _her_ to go with him.

"I'm probably beginning to sound like one of the human's old 'records' that has become damaged, but Naomi, _be careful_ ," T'Chea told her. "Don't let yourself be hurt again while working so closely with him, okay?"

"I appreciate your concern for my emotional well-being, T'Chea, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll be monitored all the time-"

"Except after your shifts end," Hannah teased.

"...Right, except after that," Naomi blushed. "Anyway, we're going to be as professional as can be. Nothing will happen!" She declared, her head held high.

"Hmm, yeah, I don't believe you," Hannah smirked. Naomi sighed inwardly. Neither did she.

A little later, after Naomi had changed out of her uniform for something more relaxed for dinner and begun packing for her trip, her eyebrow lifted in question when Hannah finally exited the bathroom and in a very elegant looking blue dress. She had to wonder if that was what the girls had been arguing about earlier. "Going somewhere? I doubt you need to get so dressy for the cafeteria?" she asked curiously, thankful for the distraction this provided for her. "What? You have a date of the mystery meat guy?" she joked, referring to one of the male 'lunch ladies'.

"Very cute," Hannah responded dryly. "I'm going on a _special date_ with Kav'ain," she grinned.

"Special? That's great!" Naomi grinned right back. "It's about time!"

"Hey! We don't say that to you about you and the professor!" Hannah retorted playfully.

"That's because if they got together they'd be unceremoniously dumped by Starfleet," T'Chea casually mentioned while reading something on the PADD she held.

"So then we won't be expecting you to return at all tonight?" Naomi playfully asked her friend, brushing away T'Chea's reminder of her and Icheb's _situation_.

"That's the idea, anyway," Hannah winked. "You girls have fun at the cafeteria though! _See ya later!_ " she sung as she flung her matching purse behind her and left.

"So are you coming with me to the cafeteria then?" Naomi asked after their friend had left.

T'Chea shook her head. "Not tonight. My stomach has been upset the whole day," she sighed wearily.

"I warned you not to eat the chili, _Chea._ It was spicy enough to cause _humans_ a problem, let alone Romulans!" Naomi chided her gently.

"Hm, indeed," T'Chea agreed. "I hope you have a good evening though. And congratulations on your mission," she smiled.

"Thanks," Naomi smiled back.

On her way alone to the cafeteria, Naomi found herself lost in thought. Voyager... she was going back! The thought of going back to her birth home, despite how upgraded the ship had gotten, was very soothing to Naomi. It was funny how destiny tugged at Naomi's soul, even if it wasn't in the capacity that Naomi wished, she was still going back. Speaking of destined circumstances, Naomi had once again been so lost in her reverie that she failed to notice she was walking into something until it was too late. Funny, that large warm wall felt eerily familiar.

It was then Naomi felt large, strong hands on her arms, having most likely taken hold of her to steady her when she had excessively bumped into whoever it was. Glancing up at the tall figure, Naomi sighed inwardly, of _course_ it was Icheb she had to run in to! It was as though they ran on the same wave-length, their bodies taking them to each other without realizing it consciously. "Naomi Wildman. We really have to stop meeting like this," he said, his tone light and playful. "I was on my way home. You headed to the cafeteria?"

Naomi looked down at his hands still holding her close to him and swallowed thickly. "Yeah..." she replied. "I'm on my own this time," she said, feeling the need to fill in the silence. Icheb practically held her right against him and as usual had yet to let go. The similarities between this embrace and the one last night was enough to leave them both out of breath.

Needing something to say, anything to distract him, Icheb asked the first thing that came to mind. "Have you... started packing yet?" His body wasn't cooperating though, completely betraying his intention of releasing her. He leaned in a little to her, as though they were magnetized and he was at her mercy.

He was far too close, and far too inviting. Breath hitched, eyes half closed. "I um, yeah..." Naomi pulled herself in just a bit closer, her hands moving over his chest on their own volition. In her mind, Naomi firmly told herself that she was simply doing that to steady herself... she didn't believe it either. The feel of his taut flesh under his uniform, rippling as he strained himself against her touch was addictive.

Icheb felt his heart spasm in his chest, the feel of her hands on him making him dizzy. The heat surrounding them drew them in like moths to a blazing fire, ready to consume them utterly. "That's good..." Icheb muttered, his gaze dropping to her lips.

"Mmhm," Naomi nodded, seeing the intention in him, making her shiver. No no no, this wasn't good! They had to separate and quickly! "Icheb?" her voice stuttered.

Icheb didn't seem coherent at all. "Hm?" His cheek brushed over hers, almost nuzzling her. She could feel the very light prickling on his face from the long day, felt his lips graze her cheeks lightly.

Naomi's eyes slid closed in light-headed anticipation, her fight with her control failing quickly. "We um..." What was she trying to tell him? One of Icheb's hands slid down her arm slowly, making her tremble before taking her hand in his, entwining their fingers. "Icheb..."

"Yes?" he questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. His other hand snaked behind her to the small of her back, fingers spread apart, pulling her closer to him, holding her securely, trapped against his body.

Naomi felt his lips skim over the side of her brow, laying a lingering kiss there that spoke of far more than affection. Naomi almost unsuccessfully held back an embarrassing whimper at the gesture. She slid her hand higher, cupping his neck, it was so difficult to remember what she needed to tell him. She truly hated herself for this, but she knew it was for their own good. Especially since they were still very much at risk of getting caught. "We... we have a... big day tomorrow... we need to- we can't..." she struggled to speak, still feeling hazy from his nearness, from his tender touches, but knowing they had to pull away _now_.

If they didn't stop now, they would never be able to.

Icheb shuddered to a halt, paused from his mouth inching closer to hers, from his unfathomable need to give in. With much difficulty, he finally drew back from her completely, letting her go and releasing an unsteady breath. "Right, I'm sorry," he said, voice shaking breathlessly. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" Icheb abruptly turned then, and walked away without looking back at her. Naomi cast a lingering look over to him and left just as quickly. Somehow, Naomi had lost her appetite that night. At least for _food._

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** The ending to the chapter was influenced by the song "Between Two Points" by The Glitch Mob.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Between the excitement of going back to Voyager, seeing her extended family again, and of course the _excitement_ in general Naomi felt for Icheb, the young woman was having one hell of a time falling asleep.

That wasn't so strange for her though, and she had learned how to deal with the familiar sensation of sleeplessness for half a year already. It seemed like it was the usual way that the half Ktarian responded to anything Icheb. This time though, it was worse. Frustration over herself and the now familiar deep need to be with Icheb drove her crazy. Naomi lashed out in agitation, childishly hitting her fist against her bed, hoping idly that she didn't wake anyone with her fury. This just wasn't fair, having to keep apart from him. What now made it that much more difficult was the importance of the mission.

Icheb wasn't having an easy time of it either. The ex Borg lay there in bed that night, his mind swimming with worries and thrills. Icheb wondered how he was going to get on with the mission with Naomi working so closely with him there. She would be reporting almost directly to him and he would be monitoring her progress often. This would inevitably lead to them getting closer. He hadn't been thinking of that when he suggested she join the mission.

Icheb had been thinking about her ambitions and dreams, he hadn't realized how it would effect _them._ Thinking about it, his mind went back to earlier that night; he had almost slipped again... the need to hold her close and kiss those soft, delicate lips was overpowering. He knew that sooner or later his control over his mental processes around her would completely fail, he just hoped he didn't ruin the mission as a result!

The next morning, Naomi woke up as early as had become normal for her and set to get herself ready. By the time she was done fixing herself up and making last minute checks that she had everything in order, she had an hour to get to Stardock on time. Leaving a note for her roommates wishing them the best, she fled her apartment quickly, excitement over going back to her old ship overcoming her. Naomi nearly shifted from foot to foot with impatience as the shuttle docked in the space station. Once the doors opened and she left the hanger, she was surprised to find her parents waiting for her in the reception area.

"Mom, dad! What a surprise!" Naomi grinned, willingly letting herself get pulled into hugs and kisses by them.

"We heard from Icheb yesterday that you would be involved in an important mission! We're so proud of you!" Samantha gushed.

Naomi frowned sadly, having completely forgotten to let her own parents know, but thankful to Icheb that he at least had the intelligence to let them know. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," she apologized guiltily.

"It's alright sweetheart, we understand how much of a whirlwind your first mission can be," Greskrendtregk smiled fondly. "Just so long as you don't let yourself get distracted by that boy," he warned her. He was aware that calling a superior officer a _boy_ was bordering insubordination, but at the moment that _boy_ was, in his eyes, a threat... at least for his 'little girl'.

"What?" Naomi blushed.

"Your mother told me about your difficulties. Don't be angry at her, sweetheart, she was just worried for you. You know you can talk to both of us about anything, right?" Greskrendtregk reminded her gently.

"Yes, dad, I know," Naomi sighed. It wasn't like she didn't trust her parents not to tell the world, but it was still a risk. She was glad that there weren't that many people there at Spacedock that early in the morning.

"That being said, again, don't let your feelings for him get in the way of your duty," he told her firmly.

"Dad, I'm not a child," Naomi growled under her breath.

Greskrendtregk held his hands up. "I know, calm down. Trust me though, I know how hard it can be to focus. There's a reason why Starfleet regulation frowns upon couples working directly with each other -in most cases."

"You don't have to worry, either of you. I take my involvement in this mission seriously. I won't let my feelings get in the way of my duties," Naomi assured them, hoping she wasn't making a liar of herself.

"Come on sweetie, the shuttle to Voyager is waiting," Samantha grinned.

"You're not going, are you?" Naomi asked sadly.

"No, we decided you needed to do this on your own," Samantha replied carefully. "Starfleet had offered most of the original crew of Voyager to join the mission, just in case something went wrong, the crew would be prepared to handle the Delta Quadrant again. I... I didn't have such an easy time of it though... I didn't want to..." Samantha trailed off, glancing over to her husband, who pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"It's okay, mom, I completely understand," Naomi gently reassured her mother.

In the end, Naomi said her goodbyes to her parents once again, the nerves over the delicate mission returning. She knew that the Federation made enormous strives in improving the wormhole technology, knew that they were taking every precaution to avoid disaster... but it was still very new technology and very tricky. As far as she knew, Voyager was the first ship to have the wormhole tech installed directly onto it. The Enterprise was due to be outfitted with it as well if it worked. The risk of their enemies getting their hands on the technology was high, which was a reason why Voyager had been refitted to tactical cruiser.

Seeing the ship come into view made Naomi gape in surprise. She had expected it to look different, be more advanced, but she hadn't expected it to look so different, so... intimidating. It had the basic shape to it, though more triangular than before. It had been extended forward to look more like the a miniature Sovereign Class ship, housing extra shuttles and weapon ports.

The nacelles had enormous curved plates on each side, maybe for the newly upgraded sensors, though the swelling on the inward side of them suggested cannons of some sort. It had strange ridges all along it's the sides, looking a little like dragon scales, most likely where the enhanced ablative armor was deployed from. The tip of the ship was curved inward dramatically with a pulsing device between the gap, wires and gratings covering it. Naomi figured it was the wormhole device, but the sharp edges gave it the appearance of teeth.

All in all, the newly redesigned long-range tactical ship rightfully so looked like a machine of war. It might even be comparable in size and appearance to the formidable Avenger Battlecruiser, as both that class of ship and the refit Voyager are designed for battle rather than exploration. As she neared the expanded docking bay, Naomi had to wonder how many years it took Starfleet to refit the ship to this magnitude. She felt a pang of sadness despite how unbelievable it looked, not recognizing it as her old home.

Once she stepped out of the shuttle, Naomi had no time to adjust to the changes as she was immediately pulled into embraces from old friends. Naomi grinned, overjoyed as each former senior member of the original crew- who had accepted the mission -took their turns hugging, kissing, and congratulating her, welcoming her back home. It was more wonderful than Naomi had imagined it would be, desperately trying to keep herself together and not cry in front of them.

Naomi tried not to notice Icheb standing some ways back, Tuvok at his side. Icheb had a fond look in his eyes, a little smirk noticeable, and Tuvok had his own version of affection, both brows quirked up a fraction. It seemed even the Vulcan had difficulty controlling his emotions this time. Naomi had no idea she had made an impression on so many of them!

"Naomi, we never had a doubt you would make it back on Voyager one day," Harry grinned at her.

"Yeah! We all expected you to be the next captain, with how much you bugged the Admiral with being her assistant," B'elanna agreed, giving her old captain a knowing smile.

"And a wonderful assistant she made!" Kathryn gushed, pulling the girl in for another hug. "It's so good to have you here. Icheb would not stop boasting about your accomplishments," she smiled knowingly, as though seeing right through her and Icheb.

Naomi hoped she was imagining things. "Oh, well..." she tried not to fidget. Somehow, this all felt like she was being doted on by relatives. Although, in a very rational way, they _were_ all family, after all. "Really I'm no different than any other ambitious Cadet," she said modestly.

"Nonesense!" Tom disagreed. "I bet you were the top of the academy, went beyond what was expected!"

"I just wanted to go back home," Naomi shrugged, still blushing in embarrassment. It was then she noticed their ranks and blinked in surprise. Kathryn was obviously an Admiral, but Tom was the new Commander, second officer to Icheb no doubt. Harry and B'elanna were Lieutenant Commanders, and if Naomi wasn't mistaken, Tuvok was as well. She had to wonder at that, why he hadn't been promoted to Commander before Tom.

"Naomi Wildman!" Naomi turned to see the Doctor approach and was once again pulled into another affectionate embrace. "I'm sorry I'm late!"

"It's okay, Doctor!" Naomi laughed, hugging the intrepid hologram tightly. "So do you have a name yet?" she asked after they pulled away.

"I decided to honor my creator. My name is Gregory Zimmerman, after Lewis' father."

"That's great, doctor!" Naomi grinned.

"Yes. As you can imagine, Lewis had some very colorful opinions on it," the Doctor rolled his eyes affectionately.

"I'm sure he had," Kathryn snorted, still feeling like the old scientist barely made an effort to remember her name last time she met him.

"So what now?" Naomi asked after a little bit, looking around at her _family_.

"Not everyone is arriving from Earth Spacedock, some from as far as Deep Space K-7. There are still a few more shuttles expected today, and then tomorrow afternoon, after everyone has settled, we can get the christening ceremony under way," Kathryn smiled, turning to take a bottle of champagne that B'elanna had been holding. "In the old days a bottle of champagne was used as an almost baptism for the ship. Of course, we won't be smashing it against the ship, but we _will_ be enjoying it!"

They laughed and all of them made their way to the briefing section of the ready-room to talk more. As they entered it, Kathryn noticed Icheb hesitate a moment. "It's your ready-room now, Icheb," she reminded him gently.

The young Captain grimaced slightly. Undoubtedly still unsure of himself. "I know..." Icheb nodded, taking a calming breath and following her in.

The reunited crew all sat around the table, laughing and teasing each other, with the exception of their chief tactical officer, of course, who merely sat observing them calmly. Tuvok informed Naomi when she asked him how he had chosen to remain on Vulcan for a short time with his family and decided against the promotion in favor of someone more suited for the position, nodding to Tom. The younger man's eyes softened in appreciation, smiling happily at his once opposer. Kathryn explained that Chakotay was not there because he had duties as a Captain aboard the Intrepid and would serve a better role as support if the occasion arose. Seven accepted the mission but was temporary called away to the Enterprise to consult them on outfitting Borg technology for its own upgrade.

"I have a suggestion to make, if that's okay with the Admiral and the Captain?" Naomi said, her brow raising to Icheb.

"What's that?" Kathryn smiled.

"Since Neelix isn't here... I feel like I should try to fill in his shoes, since I was his goddaughter and all, I feel like it's up to me!" she half human began. "My suggestion is for a party in the holodeck for the crew, to set their minds at ease. People seem on edge, worried over something?"

"They're worried we'll get stranded in the Delta Quadrant again," B'elanna rolled her eyes.

"I think that's a fantastic idea!" Harry said excitedly.

"I agree," Kathryn nodded, smiling proudly at her. "I'm sure Neelix would be proud of your efforts to raise the moral on the ship. What do you say, Captain?" Kathryn's own brow lifted in question at the Brunali officer.

"I think it's an excellent idea," Icheb nodded, his eyes flicking to Naomi a second before turning to his team. "How does tonight at 19:00 hours sound, after everyone has a chance come aboard and relax?" Icheb heard equal sounds of approval.

Later that day, Naomi had made her way to Astrometrics, taking a little tour around the small room before she started to work there, re-familiarizing herself with it. It hadn't changed as much as she had worried it would, though the technology had gone through a major overhaul. Like most of the ship, from floor panels, walls, to lights and even the carpeting, everything had been enhanced.

Naomi had felt homesick for the way it had been before, but placing her hands on the wall, she closed her eyes and imagined herself on the same ship, just matured with age. Everyone changed the older they got right? They got bigger, stronger, looked different. Voyager was no different. Opening her eyes again, Naomi decided she could handle this, it may look different, but it was still her old ship.

Naomi was so lost in thought, so focused on testing the new features of the lab, that she had managed to spend several hours there without noticing. It wasn't until the doctor- _Greg-_ had shown up, dressed in a sharp though old-fashion looking suit, that she realized it was time for the party. "Naomi," the doctor chided teasingly, "-you're going to miss your own party!"

"I lost track of time," Naomi shrugged with a little smile. When she hesitated, the doctor went over and sat by her on one of the lab seats.

"What's on your mind?" he asked curiously.

Among the doctor's improvements- that _he_ had suggested, was a greater capacity for sympathy, in order for him to further tend to the needs of his patients. The doctor had been upgraded from a simple emergency doctor that had run continuously for seven years, to a tactical surgeon and counselor. Lewis Zimmerman had made the modifications with the doctor present. The two had bantered and argued vehemently throughout the process, further cementing their unconventional father/son bond.

"It's just," Naomi turned to give her old medical teacher her attention, "-I don't..." Naomi sighed. "I don't feel like I have what it takes to meet everyone's expectations on this mission... including my own."

"Naomi," the doctor tutted gently. "Naomi you need to have more faith in yourself. I'm sure Icheb had pleaded his case to Starfleet with a proper idea of your abilities! He's proven himself to be a brilliant man, holding very high standards for everyone, including himself. He wouldn't have fought for you to be here if he didn't believe you had what it takes," he told her.

Naomi remained silent, knowing in her heart that the doctor was right. Despite her fleeting worries that he had got her onto the mission with selfish desires in mind, she knew he was too serious about Starfleet and knew how much she struggled to be the best at her studies. "Maybe," Naomi relented with a small smile.

"You've always been destined to return here, Naomi. You're meant to do great things, if you weren't, the universe wouldn't have found a way to keep you here. Your entrance to this world was a miracle, as I'm sure you remember being told, and I am certain that you will leave a miraculous imprint right back on it." Naomi was so taken by the doctor's heartfelt words that she nearly toppled him over with a hug, making him squeeze her back and chuckle affectionately. "Now come on, we have a party to get to!" Naomi allowed the doctor to lead her by the arm like a gentleman to the holodeck.

Naomi paused at the entrance to the holodeck, marveling at how extravagant the party was. The program was designed to look like a gala from the late eighteen hundreds, elegant and fully stocked with the best decorations. "It was the doctor's idea," B'elanna said as she approached her and said doctor.

"I thought the style would be tasteful and fun," he shrugged cheerfully. "Never let it be said a hologram doesn't have class!" The doctor was certainly right, everyone there was decked out in appropriate attire, though Icheb had chosen to look like an old-fashion ship Captain, giving him a sort of pirate look. He looked stunning, to say the least. Fortunately he was engrossed in a conversation with Harry and hadn't noticed her. In her Starfleet uniform, Naomi felt completely out of place.

Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Doctor," the half Klingon chided, "-you brought her here without letting her get changed first!"

"Oh dear, you're right. My apologies, Ms. Wildman," the doctor apologized.

"I'm not sure what to wear?" Naomi frowned thoughtfully. She hadn't studied as much ancient history, especially what people wore, during her schooling.

"Let's get you dressed, hm? It'd be my pleasure to help you pick a great dress!" B'elanna grinned, jumping at the chance to bond with the girl.

"But-"

"Come on!" B'elanna interrupted, not letting the younger woman make excuses and literally pushed at her out by the shoulders from the holodeck. While B'elanna and Naomi chose different styles and dresses, Naomi asked about Miral. B'elanna had smiled fondly and told her that her daughter was staying with 'uncle' Worf, who had taken an interest in the possibilities of the Kuvah'magh and the implication it could have for unity among Klingon clans. B'elanna had resisted at first, not liking the idea of her daughter being involved in such a potentially dangerous situation, but Miral had begged he, wanting to learn the Klingon ways. How could she refuse her? Besides, Ambassador Worf was a very honorable man and had experience with children, so in the end B'elanna agreed.

Their task complete, Naomi was finally satisfied with her dress. Arriving at the party in an elegant pearl white dress, with gold trimmings along the bottom and along the wide dip over her shoulders. Her shoulders, collarbone and a hint of the swell of her breasts were tastefully left to the air. She wore elbow high matching gloves and a frilled, elegant hat. She was dressed to kill. Naomi resisted blushing at the attention she was getting, instead holding herself high and with poise.

Icheb had been having a good time so far, mingling with who would be his crew for the duration of the mission, or for longer if his performance was satisfactory. He had just stepped to ask Kathryn what she thought of the gathering, when she inclined her head toward the center of the room. "Look at that," the former Captain mentioned, and Icheb turned. He had been prepared to see fascinating samples of historical ball-age attire, but he hadn't been prepared to be floored.

At the center of the room, dancing in wide arcs with Tom Paris, was Naomi Wildman, dressed like he would imagine a Queen of that age would dress. Regal, elegant, and completely breathtaking. His mouth dried and he kept himself very still, trying not to draw attention to himself while he shamelessly admired her. He stood riveted, watching her laugh at something Tom said and move with such grace that it was almost painful to him.

The feeling he was getting then was oddly familiar, from long ago. Jealousy. Though this time, he could not deny it and could not refuse to act on it. Since his arrival on the new Voyager, the old crew had been very welcoming, supportive, and even thrilled to have him lead them. He had reunited with his now first officer and had bonded well so far with the older man. Tom was a great man and a good friend, but right now, he was Icheb's rival.

"Excuse me, Kate," Icheb said, not noticing the Admiral's knowing smile as Kathryn watched him walk with a purpose directly toward the dancing couple.

"You're too much, Tom!" Naomi laughed. "I don't think I can get that kind of result from my... well, my _guard_ ," she grinned. Tom had proposed that Naomi make her supervisor think she was the the admiral's niece, that way she would have an easier time and wouldn't be watched like a hawk. "It'd be nice though, wouldn't it?" Naomi had caught a glimpse of her new supervisor when she had been walking the halls with the whole senior staff earlier.

"Oh, hey Icheb," Tom said, looking behind her. Naomi bit her lip, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Tom, good to see you," Icheb began patiently, though at the present moment not exactly agreeing with his choice of words.

"Something I can help you with?" Tom grinned, getting a good idea what the younger man wanted.

"If Naomi doesn't mind, may I 'cut in'?" Icheb finally said, holding himself straight and composed like a proper gentleman.

"It's up to the lady," Tom's brow rose as he peeked down at the _blushing_ young woman. Oh-ho, interesting! This might actually be a _fun_ mission!

"Of course," Naomi responded after releasing a breath. Tom released his dancing partner and made a show of bowing to them before turning and almost skipping to B'elanna. Naomi had yet to turn, still attempting to calm herself down.

"Naomi?" Icheb questioned, waiting patiently for the half Ktarian to turn to him. When she finally did, he wasn't surprised to see the blush on her fair cheeks. Icheb smiled reassuringly and offered he his hand. Naomi took it before she could think about it and hesitate. Icheb pulled her close, resting a hand on her waist, almost burning her, while the other held her hand slightly away from them. Naomi let her other hand rest on his strong shoulder and allowed him to whisk her across the dance floor without another word.

The beat of the music was low and soft, making the dancers sway in elegant symmetry. Icheb held Naomi close, their eyes fixed on each other as the world around them disappeared, much like it had the very first time they embraced in the class room. Not one word was needed between them, the gentle motions of the slow melody easing them into it, blending them together with spins and archs, bringing them closer each time. Their bodies moved as one, no boundaries between them this time, though they kept reserved, knowing if they moved closer they would lose themselves.

Icheb's hand slipped around Naomi's, enticing her to spin. Naomi grinned softly, twirling away, only to be brought back. The force brought her into him slightly, but she stepped away quickly, breathlessly. Icheb smiled softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly but kept his distance, intending on keeping them out of the radar from the attention he knew they were getting. He could care less what people thought of them at the moment however, too lost in his love for her to worry so much over it now. They would have to forcibly disable him and rip her from his arms to get him to let her go now.

Tom Paris stood next to B'elanna, having just finished relaying the interesting development to his lovely wife. "You think they like each other?" B'elanna asked, watching the dancing couple with her husband.

"Look at them," Tom suggested. "I can practically _smell it_ on them."

"No need to be so crude," B'elanna rolled her eyes. "They do make a very cute couple though..." she agreed. "Their eyes haven't left each other since they started dancing."

"Yeah but do you notice how they're keeping each other at arms length?" Tom crossed his arms, smiling at the scene. He would deny is furiously of course, but Tom Paris was a bit of a romantic.

"Tom, it's a waltz, that's how it's supposed to be," B'elanna drawled fondly.

Tom shook his head and gestured toward them again. "Nah, not like that. Look _closer_."

B'elanna observed them better and saw what Tom was talking about. It looked like they were straining themselves; they danced with slow, long, purposeful gaits, a powerful passion plain to see, but kept a firm distance from each other. They gazed almost longingly at each other but said nothing. "Damn," the half Klingon muttered, impressed by the results of her analysis. When Icheb dipped Naomi gently, it was almost heartbreaking. It was clear that they trusted each other, despite the tension between them.

Tom and B'elanna were not the only ones to notice the intense chemistry between the young couple, but neither of them could tell that they were being admired, only having eyes for each other. After a few more dances, they paused and smiled delicately at each other. "Would you like a drink?" Icheb asked, mirroring what he had said many months ago. This time, Naomi smiled affectionately and nodded. "Come with me?" he asked, offering her his arm. Naomi grinned and took it, letting him lead her to the buffet table.

"That was beautiful. I never knew either of you were such wonderful dancers," Kathryn said where she stood with Tuvok at the end of the table. The Lieutenant Commander had been _persuaded_ to attend the party and had agreed to come as a measure of security for the party. Kathryn had rolled her eyes but allowed him to call it whatever he wanted as long as he participated with the rest of the crew.

Naomi blushed once again, trying not to look over at Icheb. "Thank you, Kate," she said, accepting the glass of champagne from him. "This isn't alcohol, is it?" She suddenly asked, glancing down at her cup.

"It would be highly inappropriate for the majority of the ship's crew to become inebriated before an important mission, as well as a security risk if that were the case, Ms. Wildman," Tuvok mentioned with his usual calm, logical tone.

"Good," Naomi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Worried over getting a little tipsy?" Kathryn teased.

"I just don't want to be late or have a hangover for my first day of work, Sir," Naomi explained. What she _didn't_ say was she couldn't afford to let herself lose control of her faculties and do something she and Icheb would regret. At least not without being able to remember it! That thought made her pause and inwardly shake her head. She turned then to Icheb, needing to take a break from his closeness and intensity. "Thank you, Icheb. I'd like to chat with some of the crew now, if that's okay."

"Of course. Thank you for dancing with me," he returned with an unreadable look before his lips lifted into a familiar little smile. "I should probably go back and 'mingle' with the crew as well," he told her. Kathryn watched the two with interest as they attempted to look disinterested in each other, attempted to fight from remaining together. They gave each other one last fleeting look before parting, purposefully going to oppose ends of the room.

"Hn," Tuvok vocalized his fascination.

"You noticed it to, huh?" Kathryn smiled.

"Indeed it is hard to miss," Tuvok's brow lifted before he returned to the security reports he had been working on.

Naomi had done all she could to avoid Icheb for the rest of the evening, having almost lost it when they had danced together earlier. She had spoken to each of the people who showed up at the party and most of those who took their turns as the room cycled through people. The holodeck was not big enough to house all five hundred plus crewmembers, after all. While Voyager was still small compared to most cruisers, it had still doubled in size.

Not just once did Naomi feel Icheb's resilient gaze on her throughout the night, could sense his closeness on more than one occasion. It was difficult, not going back to his inviting arms, but she had to make a show of not being _completely in love_ with her Captain and superior officer. That night, Naomi had been having a pleasant dream. She dreamed of her old home, dreamed of her friends, and of her family... but it was when she began to dream of _him_ that her sleep became unusually strained. Naomi twisted restlessly in her bed, her heart racing as she slept, whimpering as her dream intensified...

 _Naomi had been standing calmly in the center of the turbo-lift after the party, still in her fancy dress, ready to get to her mother's old room and settled in for bed. She had successfully avoided running into Icheb throughout the rest of the party and felt like she was home free, could finally get to her warm bed and relax._

 _Icheb had been unusually... tense, during the party. She had caught him staring at her more than one time, making her heart race with the heated look he would give her. She had expected him to look away when she noticed him, but he hadn't. Now it was over, and she had_ _made her way out_ _quickly, avoiding him as best as she could. She had just begun to feel relief, when the turbo-lift door opened and in stepped the object of her agony._

 _So much for avoiding him._

" _Captain," Naomi said, trying to be playful. She had expected Icheb to smirk at her in his usual friendly way, but none of her expectations seemed to be coming to pass. Icheb only stared at her, his expression completely unidentifiable._

" _Cadet," he finally responded, stepping to her side as the doors closed. The lift started then and Naomi swallowed hard, feeling completely uneasy by his monotone. She glanced over at him, but he stood stiffly next to her, showing no emotion, reminding her very much of what he once was. But then he broke the silence abruptly. "Computer, halt turbo-lift," Icheb said suddenly, turning to her._

 _The lift stopped and Naomi almost felt like she was in a plasma reactor._ " _Icheb? What's wrong?" she questioned, but then saw the look in his eyes change drastically, darkening again to an almost volcanic black._

" _Absolutely nothing," Icheb responded, moving toward her until he was able to rest his palm against the bulkhead behind her. "I'm just tired of holding myself back," he said, his voice full of longing and promise._

 _Oh no._

" _Icheb, you know we can't... we can't give in to our feelings," Naomi told him, trying to reason with him, unable to look at him anymore... not when he was looking at her with such passion._

 _Icheb's hand slid very gently across her cheek, taking her chin and coaxing her to look back at him. "Who says we can't?" he implored, almost begging her. "We're alone here, no one to bother us... let me show you how I feel," he stepped closer to her, his arm supporting him against the wall bending as he drew nearer._

 _Naomi placed a hand on his chest, halting his approach weakly. "...You know we won't be able to go back from this if we do anything about it, right?" she warned him. There was a noticeable tremble in her voice, but she was riveted by the smoldering in his eyes. Part of her knew she was giving in to him too quickly, but for the life of her she couldn't say no, couldn't stop him... and she really didn't want to either._

 _Icheb shook his head, "I don't care."_

 _With that, he took her hand from his chest and closed the gap, completely invading her personal space. Naomi's breath hitched as he leaned into her, her mouth responding to his immediately as he crushed his lips to hers in an all-consuming kiss. Their suffocating need for each other ruled over them and they fell back against the wall._

 _Naomi shivered at the uncharacteristic aggression in his advances, breathlessly trying to keep up with him. She gasped in the kiss when Icheb lifted her up, sliding his hands over her legs as he pulled them around his hips. Icheb used her surprise to his advantage, sliding his tongue against hers seductively, their mouths eagerly searching, devouring each other._

 _Naomi was unaware of anything else for the moment, her only focus was the overwhelming heat of his body, pushing into hers, the unavoidable throbbing of need in her own, how he ground his hips erotically against hers, making it so much more profound. Icheb moaned low into their kiss and Naomi quivered against him, aching with heightened desire. Then she heard rustling, could feel his hands on her bare legs as he hiked up her dress up, sliding them over her slowly, and knew she couldn't deny him even if she wanted to._

 _Icheb moved, pushing her harder against the bulkhead, the thin barriers between them seemingly vanishing. Naomi was completely at his mercy and could feel his solid arousal against her as he pushed forward eagerly, reaching his intended target with the drive of a machine._ _Naomi's head fell back from the kiss, mouth dropped open in an inaudible cry of pleasure, digging her fingers into his shoulders desperately as she surrendered utterly to him._

And just like that, Naomi Wildman violently whipped up from bed with a strangled gasp, bracing herself on her bed, clenching her sheets in a vice grip.

Why was her mind torturing her so? Naomi felt a full body shudder overtake her. She could almost still feel him, rocking solidly into her, rhythmic, hypnotic, aching. 'Please...' she begged the heavens, not knowing what she really wanted at the moment, covering her face. It was almost too much to handle. She could _definitely_ still feel the effects of the dream on her tortured body and moaned in despair. She had to _concentrate_ on this mission! She couldn't afford to mess up tomorrow on her _first day_ just because of some... stupid dream!

Naomi wiped the sweat from her brow and threw her tangled covers off of her, needing to get up, needing to clear her mind. Naomi tore through her room and groped the wall in the dark until she found the bathroom door. She went immediately to the faucet and splashed her face with water as cold as she could get it, thankful that at least _it_ wasn't sonic. Naomi rested her palms on the counter, staring at the image of herself in the mirror; her 'twin' that stared back at her looked like hell.

The need for Icheb was enough to bring her to her knees, and she could do nothing about it, at least for the moment. Well... except for _that,_ but then she'd _never_ get back to sleep. Naomi ran her fingers through her now unruly red hair in agitation, frustrated beyond belief. She had to pull herself together, get a grip, force herself to sleep and get up early for her _first day on the mission!_ This was important, damn it! Shuddering once again, she let her head drop in defeat, _knowing_ she wouldn't get any sleep that night at all. Hopefully the next day would be mostly introductions and settling in to the first day... she could handle that with little to no sleep.

Part of her hoped, with not a little amount of frustrated spite, that Icheb was having just as much trouble as she was.

Naomi had no way of knowing just how much he was.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N** : I make no apologies for my use of colorful descriptions; the story is rated M for a reason. If anyone wants to make fan-art for the new and improved Voyager, I'd be thrilled to see it! The dance scene was inspired by song "Lady Grinning Soul" by Lucia Micarelli. The turbo-lift dream sequence was influenced by "Shield & Sword" by Active Child. "Avenger Battlecruiser" property of CBS Studios Inc. idea used from Star Trek Online.

Shout-Outs

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you! In case you haven't noticed with this chapter, it's still going strong lol.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

The next morning, Naomi Wildman was _not_ at all a happy camper.

It was horrible, really, feeling so bad when she was finally back home and on such an amazing day! Today was the day that the ship would be 'christened' and launched out to the mission destination from drydock since its massive upgrade. Today she would get to know her supervisor and understand her role during this important mission for the Federation. She should feel excited, look forward to it! And she _did,_ but no matter how hard she tried to focus on that, all she could think of was the endless torment she had put herself through the previous night, doing everything to feel relief after the intense dream she had. Sleep escaped her and now she feared not even a hypo-spray of pure caffeine would help.

Naomi hesitated at the turbo-lift, looking at it warily. As it opened, she breathed in relief when it was mercifully empty. She had just begun to relax, thinking of what her duties would be like and if she might possibly impress her supervisor, when the worst thing that could happen to her that morning, happened. By some cruel galactic coincidence, or fate yanking at her chains, laughing gleefully at her misery, the next time the lift doors opened, exactly the person she had prayed would not step in, did. He looked completely composed, even cheerful, looking as amazing as always in his sharp, black and red tactical officer uniform. How was it possible that the uniform looked ordinary on anyone else, but it seemed to hug his impressive frame at just the right angles?

"Naomi Wildman," Icheb greeted with a friendly smile as he stepped next to her on the turbo-lift. It was immediate, the feeling that something was completely off, and he frowned in confusion.

The memory of the dream fresh on her mind, Naomi did everything she could think of to calm down and not let her eyes wander on him. "Captain," she mumbled quietly, her tone completely subdued, monotone even.

"Naomi? Something wrong?" Icheb asked in concern, turning to look at her.

Intense deja vu made the half Ktarian's mental capabilities grind to a halt. Pulse in her throat, Naomi stared at the turbo-lift doors, desperately willing them to open. She had to get out, _now_ , before she started to hyperventilate and brought attention to herself. This was far too frighteningly similar to the dream she had last night, though with ironically reversed roles.

Naomi knew Icheb was giving her weird looks, but she just couldn't control her memory and imagination going rampant in her mind. That stupid dream had been the final straw that ruined how she looked at Icheb, having seen in it the raw sexual passion between them. Naomi knew that it had been a reflection of her own inner desires, vindictively exploding at her from being bottled up.

"Just preoccupied with the mission," Naomi answered mostly untruthfully, glad at least that she wasn't verbally showing her strain. "I hope nothing happens and we get stranded."

Icheb studied her for a moment, seeing her flushed skin and stiff posture. They were standing close enough for him to be able to pick up on her rapidly beating heart and slightly irregular breathing thanks to his remaining tech. He knew she was lying through her teeth, and he wasn't foolish enough to not know what was wrong with her. They were both so wired up from avoiding their feelings that it was causing adverse effects for them. Still, he would humor her, try to at least ease her stress. "Don't worry, we're taking every precaution to make sure the wormhole is stable, remember? That's why we're here."

Naomi almost visibly sighed in relief, catching herself at the last second, and inwardly thanked Icheb for giving her this peace at least. "Right, of course," she nodded, chewing her lip while she glared at the door.

"I... was actually coming over to see if you had any questions before you went up to Astrometrics?" Icheb asked, trying to nudge through the wall Naomi had put up in her defenses.

"That's okay, thank you though," Naomi ventured a tentative little smile.

"Alright. If you need me however, you know how to reach me." Icheb's hand had almost reached out on its own, intended on caressing her soft cheek, but he held himself back, giving her the space she clearly needed at the moment, and instead left without another word. Naomi finally relaxed, feeling more than a little bit guilty for being so evasive with him. She needed to focus though, and having him around her would not help her do that.

Finally reaching her floor, she made her way to the lab, deliberately running through every bit of material she had ever studied on Astrometrics through her mind as she walked. Fortunately that helped clear her mind, and when she got there she was able to properly introduce herself to her supervisor with the poise and confidence she was often known for. Her supervisor was a human man of dark skin, average height and build, a strong chin, and judgmental eyes. "It's good to meet you, Cadet Wildman," he greeted her. "I am Lieutenant Gary Jeremiah. I will be monitoring your progress during the length of the mission," he said without preamble.

Naomi was a little put off by his clipped tone, as though he was annoyed that he had been given this assignment over more 'fulfilling' ones. She tried not to let it get to her. "I look forward to working with you, sir," Naomi said as politely as she could. The Lieutenant merely grunted in response and began instructing her on what he expected of her during the mission. While Lieutenant Jeremiah would be in charge of the major part of the research, Naomi would assist him and monitor the equipment. She would be in charge of reporting most of the rudimentary findings while he took the more complicated ones in his 'more experienced' hands, as he put it.

In other words, she was relegated to acting as his assistant, someone who didn't know anything, who needed to be corrected often. Naomi tried not to bristle under the man's presumptuous attitude, and tell him off; she had to make a good impression, after all. The only good thing she got out of it was her familiarization of her work space and thankful distraction.

A little later, Voyager underwent the christening ceremony. Everyone dressed in their formal uniform and most of the higher authorities in Starfleet went on the view-screen to formally declare the ship active once again. They cheered and more than one bottle of champagne was opened throughout Starfleet. Tom took the honor of taxiing the newly enhanced ship out of drydock, declaring that the ship felt different than she had before, smoother, newer, as though the ship anticipated his commands. Icheb stood next to Kathryn, smirking a little at his 'new' first officer's enthusiasm while the Admiral rolled her eyes fondly.

The day was over finally and Naomi could relax. It was a lot of fun, despite her initial start to the day. She was very proud of being a part of such a big moment in Starfleet history, eternally grateful to Icheb for allowing her this opportunity. Even so, she was so tired from the long day and little sleep, that when her shift ended that day, she went directly to bed. Naomi had been asked to join with a few of the senior staff for another little celebration, but she had to decline, feeling too fatigued and vulnerable to joined them.

Naomi would get no peace that night either however, as her merciless mind conjured up new images and scenarios with the man she was in love with, flaunting her deep longing for her more than close friend at her. Though this dream was not as potent and visual as the previous, it still held powerful feelings, intense reactions and cries for release that echoed in her head. Naomi flew up from bed again, her covers twisted around her as she panted to catch her breath. She fell back against the bed and hid her face in her pillow, muffling her groan of dismay. Even in her sleep she couldn't find relief. Something had to be done about this, but Naomi wasn't sure what.

Arriving at their destination the next day, the whole of Voyager set off to begin their analysis before the preliminary trail runs of the wormhole generator. The location chosen for the wormhole was none other than the spot Starfleet had used to communicate with Voyager the first time years earlier. It had initiated project Pathfinder for the then still _Lieutenant_ Barclay and in a matter of speaking opened the way back home to Voyager. The wormhole had since collapsed in the Alpha Quadrant, but they felt confident in the fact that it had a vestigial presence in the Delta Quadrant, no matter how small, and their technology would allow them to reignite it there. It was common knowledge that for a wormhole to open, there had to be somewhere on the other side for it to lead to, another opening.

Every member of the crew worked diligently on their research, doing everything they could to analyze the success of the re-ignition. Naomi tried not to let her sleep deprivation get in the way of her work, honestly loving the opportunity and working hard to make as much of an impact in it as she could. It was tough, but it was rewarding. The only time during that day that caused her to pause was whenever she had to report her findings to the senior staff, specifically Icheb. It was by some miracle that he had seemed to understand what she was going through that week, and kept things professional and calm. Naomi and Icheb had come to an unspoken agreement early on to keep their feelings for each other in check, at least until after the mission... but it was becoming unbearable to keep that up.

That night, Naomi lay in bed, wondering what she would do about her lack of sleep. Part of her told her that she needed to talk to someone about it, but the only counselor on the ship was the doctor, and she would _not_ tell _him_ about her 'relationship' with Icheb... or lack there of. She was certain that the hologram still saw her as his little assistant and Icheb as the young former Borg, shy and unsure of himself. It was silly to think that way, she knew, but she would still prefer to keep it from him.

It wasn't like her dreams completely handicapped her anyway; she could still focus on her assignments and carry on with her work... it was just very inconvenient and irritated her. Naomi was very much focused on her work, doing everything she knew to help with the success of the mission, and at the same time try to impress her supervisor. Naomi turned in bed, staring at her lamp without seeing it. Was Icheb handling it better than she was?

Icheb meanwhile sat on the edge of his bed in a familiar pose that night, his face covered by his hands, his own dreams haunting him. He struggled with himself, tried to remain detached, but he didn't know how to handle keeping himself _to himself_ around her anymore. He could practically feel her intense need for him, mirroring his own pull for her and it was making him crazy.

Icheb's body betrayed him, forcing him to employ some of the more unconventional physical controls he had his Borg enhancements to thank. Funny how unintentionally convenient some of the horrible changes to his body they had made were. Part of him fleetingly thanked his lucky stars that they hadn't removed important parts of his anatomy, no matter how inconvenient it was to him at the moment.

Icheb thought that being somewhere familiar, surrounded by familiar faces would help them adjust, would help them drift back to how they had been in the past. Instead, the closeness of the ship, the relaxed environment, eased regulations, and fact that Icheb and Naomi worked together closely pretty regularly was making it so much worse. He had been doing everything he could to remain distant from her, give her the space they both needed, but Icheb knew that it was only a matter of time before he snapped. What worried him was that he knew that when he did, she would do nothing to stop him.

Scrubbing his face in irritation, Icheb was beginning to wonder why he struggled to hold himself back so hard. If they succeeded in this mission, he would become a proper Captain and Naomi would only have a year to complete in the academy. He was certain that her performance- that she was _already_ striving to prove -would impress their superiors and she would be promoted to Ensign. After that, regulations were a lot more relaxed when it came to _fraternizing_. They would only have to be careful of favoritism and not be able to work as closely together, but they could _be_ together. Icheb dug his fingers in his hair, attempting to soothe himself, knowing he was losing this inner war.

But why?

Why was he fighting it?

Five days had gone by since they began their efforts to assess the probability of stabilizing the wormhole. Naomi had been having on and off periods of restful sleep and distracting dreams. It had gotten to the point where she had caved in and gone to the doctor, telling him that she was having insomnia, worry and stress over the mission she said. It was partially true, she _did_ have a very small bit of worry over not just the success, but the possibilities of something going wrong. The doctor had given her a sedative two nights in a row already, but was beginning to become concerned over it. Naomi had assured him that once she got used to the mission, she wouldn't need the extra help anymore... it appeased him, for the time being.

Naomi had fallen behind in her work slightly that day anyway, her mind having drifted a few times, so she worked hard after her shift ended to make up for it. It wasn't like she daydreamed or anything, but working closely with all her old friends and specifically her Captain sometimes made her think of _after_ the mission. At the moment she stood at her console, reviewing a report she had been meaning to turn in earlier that day. She felt like something was missing with her analysis, but couldn't figure out what.

When the door opened, she didn't need to turn around to know who it was, having expected him to wonder why she was working overtime. Icheb stood behind Naomi as he looked over the analysis she was working on... entirely too closely in her opinion. "Problem," Icheb pointed out, immediately finding the elusive issue Naomi had been struggling with, leaning in slightly more to look at the console.

Naomi should have known he would have caught it, part of her irritated by his ability while the other rebelled at his usual collected attitude. "I don't see anything?" Naomi said, turning her head ever-so slightly to glance at him. He was so close, that she could see the beautiful, subtle, blue twist in his irises, feel his heated breath on her cheek. Feeling her body flush in response to their nearness, Naomi twisted her head back to the console, releasing a deep breath. She focused on the console with the sharpness of a hawk... but it wasn't enough, and it was obvious he was doing everything he could to distract her.

"You didn't account for spatial temporal lapses in the event horizon," the Brunali Captain murmured by her ear, making her feel his breath against it, reaching around her to point out the corrections she needed to make. "Here, and here," he said in a low, husky voice. Naomi tensed involuntarily as his arm all but wrapped around her body with the movement, making him have to lean in further, his body pressing against her back.

Naomi bit her lip, wondering what his intentions really were. "Icheb?"

"Yes?" he mumbled, seemingly not paying attention.

"...You're distracting me from my work..." she muttered halfheartedly. Icheb didn't move away, in fact moved in closer. She felt one of his hands rest upon her back, seemingly to steady him so he could lean in more, peer over her shoulder, but the hand slowly traveled up. Naomi let her eyes shut with desire, very quickly losing the battle with her concentration once again. Damn him and his ability to completely render her at his mercy.

"So, do you see your mistake yet?" Icheb asked instead, pushing into her a little harder, his hips pushing into hers suggestively as he leaned over to 'check on her work'. He knew well that he was being inappropriate, knew he should be professional, but he had given up fighting his need for her to stop now. It was everything he could do to keep his hands at respectable areas on her, to not give in and take her right then and there. Not only would that be barbaric, but he was certain she would be upset with him. Still, he was male and he would be lying if he denied having fantasies like that.

Naomi's jaw tightened. "I... I think so," her throat constricted. "There is... there is a slight fluctuation... here," Naomi told him, forcing her voice to remain as steady as she could get it while her finger pointing shakily.

"What is your conclusion?" Icheb asked quietly, his lips right by her ear, hot breath tickling her.

Naomi cleared her throat, cursing him for being so teasing and cursing herself for reacting so strongly to him. "It's a... It's a minor quantum-... Icheb-" Naomi's own words escaped her as he completely threw her off guard.

Before Naomi knew what had happened, Icheb had pushed her hair aside and very deliberately took his time to kiss her on the delicate bend between her shoulder and neck. He pressed his lips against her very slowly as he nudged the collar of her uniform aside, slipping a few of his fingers below the collar. The feel of his hand almost burned Naomi and she struggled to breathe. Was she dreaming again? ...No, the feeling of his soft, warm lips and long fingers on her were _definitely_ real.

"Go on," Icheb ordered in a low murmur, his soft voice muffled against her skin.

This couldn't be happening, right? What happened to trying to stay professional? Avoid their feelings for the duration of the mission? What happened to taking things slow? Apparently working so closely together this week after having had those _moments_ back at the academy, completely broke his resolve... and was rapidly and alarmingly tearing hers apart as well. Naomi did her best not to squirm where she stood as their position tortuously made her mind crawl with stimulating images. "You're making it _difficult_ to go on..." she protested, her voice barely registering as a whisper.

"Are you really complaining?" He asked softly, his tone both teasing and serious as he wrapped his arm fully around her from behind.

'If this is another dream, please don't let me wake up this time,' Naomi mentally begged the cosmos. "M-Maybe just a little..." she responded weakly. She shuddered and bit back a gasp as he latched onto her skin again, his hot tongue on her heated flesh driving her wild. Oh what she wouldn't give to feel those sensual lips against hers. Icheb held her loosely, as though giving her the opportunity to move if she chose to.

Naomi chose to.

Pulling away sharply, Naomi was unable to take it any longer, unable to keep her need for him bottled up any longer, unable to ignore his obvious advances. Icheb had clearly given up fighting it, decided to take the risk. If they were careful, maybe, just maybe, they could do this. Deciding then that _he_ was worth the risk, Naomi turned to him. Icheb made no move of stopping her, audibly sighing in relief as she spun around to face him. She reached for him, sliding her hand up to cup the back of his hair, running her fingers through it, tugging at him, beckoning him closer.

Icheb was all too happy to oblige; he braced himself on the console behind her, his hands on the machine while his arms trapped her there. Leaning in slowly, their chins brushed again, lips parting, their breaths mingling. But... before they could get any further _again_ , a very familiar POP sounded right next to then, surprising them enough to pull apart before anything further happened. It seemed the heavens were conspiring against them.

Q2 stood in front of them, not looking any differently than he had half a year ago. The young Q even sported his customary Starfleet uniform and cocky smile. "Ichy! Naomi! It's been a while!" Q2 grinned at them. His brow had shot up in interest at having caught them in a compromising position, but decided not to comment on it... at least, not _now._

"Q-Ball..." Icheb all but growled in irritation.

"Whoa," Q2 lifted his hands up. "Down boy! Icheb you sound like a rabid dog," the young Q smirked.

"What's the occasion, ...Q-Ball?" Naomi questioned, hoping he didn't mind the use of Icheb's nickname for him. By the friendly smile he gave her, it seemed he didn't.

"You, of course!" Q2 announced happily. Icheb's frown, if possible, deepened.

"Me?" Naomi frowned in confusion, trying not to notice how Icheb tensed where he stood beside her. "What are you talking about?"

"Our date! Remember? Come on, no time like the present! See you around, Ichy!" Q2 didn't give either of them any time to think, let alone argue, as he snapped his finger and he and Naomi disappeared.

"Q-Ball...!" Icheb gritted his teeth, clenching his fists where he stood. He could try calling the young Q's father, but decided against adding yet another unpredictable element. So instead, forced himself to calm down. Over the years of knowing his friend, Icheb knew Q2 would never do anything to harm or upset Naomi, trusting him to be a gentleman... he was just upset that he'd interrupt them like that, knowing he had most likely done so on purpose. He sighed in defeat and made his way to his quarters, figuring he'd get an early start on sleep, hoping she'd return some time soon that night. He didn't want to have to doubt Q2's honor if he kept her through the night!

Naomi blinked to adjust to the abrupt change in scenery and looked around. She sat in a diner and from the looks of it she was in the 1950's. She and Q2 were dressed in appropriate clothing for the time period. No one seemed to notice them though, so Naomi relaxed a little. "I hope you're hungry," Q2 mentioned amiable. Naomi then noticed the contents on the table. Before her, sitting on a plate was a delicious looking burger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. Q2 had certainly gone all out.

Naomi wasn't exactly that hungry at the moment, not for that at least, but she didn't want to offend him. "Thanks, Q-Ball... I hadn't had the chance to eat tonight. This looks great!" she said, trying to sound as friendly as she could, despite how frustrated and now annoyed she was. "I thought you were joking about this though," she mentioned.

"Oh I was serious! Sometimes Icheb needs a kick in the pants, but you needed a bit of time apart from him apparently," the young Q smirked again knowingly.

"I didn't... I don't..." Naomi felt herself flush in embarrassment.

"Your mission is important to you, isn't it?" He questioned. "I figured I'd help you with the _distraction_ to your mission."

Naomi blushed again and shook her head. "The mission _is_ important to me, yes, but it's my decision whether I want to be _distracted_ or not. I'm an adult and can handle my own problems. Thank you for trying though," she added, hoping he didn't take offense.

Fortunately, Q2 seemed a lot more reasonable than she heard his father being. "I get it," he smiled.

"So will you take me back?" Naomi asked in a hopeful tone.

"After Icheb has cooled down, sure," Q2 grinned. "Besides, I wanted to a have friendly chat with you! Get to know you! I promise I'll be a perfect date," he smiled. Naomi settled and decided she probably wouldn't be able to change his mind anyway. They sat and had a nice talk. While Naomi still felt uncomfortable, after having such an intense _encounter_ with Icheb, she forced herself to relax.

While they talked about their upbringings, their adventures – Naomi hardly believing some of the things Q2 told her about – they also spoke about their memories of Icheb and how they related with him. Figuring he probably knew everything anyway, Naomi confided in him her feelings for Icheb, telling him how they reunited, fought, and made up. Q2 thanked her for trusting him with her struggles and promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone if she didn't want him to.

After a lengthy chat, Naomi chewed on her lip, trying to decide whether or not to say what she wanted to say, but in the end knew that he already knew about it anyway. "You know you interrupted something back there..." she mumbled.

"Oh, _I know_ ," Q2 grinned impishly. "I think I've kept you long enough though. Naomi, I hope you can count me as one of your friends. I'll tell you what I told Icheb, if you ever need me, just call me, okay? It may take me a little bit, but I'll always answer," he told her kindly.

"Thank you, Q-Ball, I appreciate that and I do count you as a friend," Naomi replied, touched by his sentiment.

"Of course, Naomi," he smiled.

Once Q2 returned her to Voyager, she found herself back in the Astrometrics lab. Icheb was no longer there and figured he had gone to bed. Risking it, she tried to contact him on a private channel. "...I'm back," she told him simply.

"...Good," was Icheb's strained reply. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Naomi bit her lip, wondering if he was upset with her. "Good night?" she said softly.

"Good night, Naomi," he replied, his tone softer than before.

Naomi relaxed and finished her earlier work, trying not to think of how her little problem with her analysis had been solved. When she was finished, she wrote her report, intending on delivering it in the morning. Naomi was too overwhelmed that night to stop by Sickbay and went straight to bed, hoping her she wouldn't need another sedative to sleep peacefully that night.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** Poor Icheb and Naomi _just can't catch a break!_ Obvious parts of this chapter was influenced by song "The Chase" by SOHN.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Naomi Wildman was not a damsel in distress, she was _not_.

It had been a few days and Naomi knew that she had to do something about the strain between her and the stubborn Brunali Captain, and soon. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly sure what to do about it without it becoming inappropriate or too much of a distraction. While she hated herself for keeping her distance from him, she knew that the success of the mission, not to mention the security of their blossoming careers as well, it all relied on their focus.

This wasn't just about keeping away from each other because of the protocols in the way either. It was amazing how easy it was to make a mistake when handling the delicate mechanics of the neutrino field and quantum mechanics. As such, for the moment she needed to get through her day without vivid memories from her troublesome dreams or simply getting distracted and scolded while working.

"Cadet Wildman." Naomi paused at the door to Sickbay, cringing slightly, seeing one of the doctor's nurses. She relaxed when the older woman didn't seem annoyed at seeing her again that week. "You're becoming a regular. _Greg_ is in his office, go on in," the middle-aged woman said, no questions asked and smiling kindly.

Naomi relaxed and smiled back. "Thank you," she replied, relieved that she wouldn't be investigated, at least by _her_. She moved to the doctor's office, hearing the usual cheerful humming as she approached.

Doctor Gregory Zimmerman's brow lifted when he saw his regular visitor. "Ah, Ms. Wildman. I may have to start charging you for my services," he mentioned jokingly before leveling her with an almost paternal scrutiny. "Am I to assume you're here for _another_ sedative?"

Naomi squirmed slightly, realizing how it sounded. It wasn't like she _desperately needed_ the extra help, but sometimes her repressed feelings for Icheb sought revenge on her while she slept and kept her up at night. Simple calming tea wasn't enough. "Yes, doctor," Naomi nodded without a more elaborate explanation, leaning against his desk while he typed away. As many times before, Naomi was struck by memory, remembering many times before leaning against or sitting on top of the doctor's desk, watching him work as she waited for him to start their classes. Sickbay had seemed so much bigger then.

The doctor paused his report and turned to her, giving her a look of worry. "Naomi," he began softly. "If something is bothering you, more than just the stress over your work, you should really tell me. If it effects your duties-"

"-It doesn't. I can get my work done," Naomi interrupted him shaking her head, not wanting this to become more of an issue. While sure, her dreams distracted her, Naomi had enough work to do that she could reassert her focus if she willed herself to do so, but it was still distracting enough for her to find it annoying enough to seek help.

"In that case, aside from the fact that I am a _fully functional counselor_ as well as a _spectacular_ doctor, I'm also your friend and concerned over how many times you seek help for this. I really wish you would open up to me," the doctor's shoulders dropped slightly.

Naomi tried not to let him get to her, knowing he was probably doing that on purpose. "I know, and I'm sorry I'm making you worry over me," she sighed, figuring she could let him in on it just a little. "...I've been..." she hesitated, unsure then of how his new and improved regulation subroutines would handle her _problem._ "I'm having intense dreams-"

"Are they perhaps nightmares? Certain dreams can mean many things, physical ailments, mental struggles, you may even dream of losing your teeth if you're holding too many secrets. There are many reasons why we dream. Would you like to talk about them? It helps, you know," the doctor interrupted, going into full counselor mode, eager to help her.

"No no, calm down, they're not nightmares," Naomi insisted, taking a step back from the desk at the force of his enthusiasm to help. Apparently his subroutines still needed a little adjustment. "They're just... intense dreams that I'd really rather not have to think about while I'm trying to work," she assured him again. She had thought about lying, telling him that it was worry over the Borg, but didn't feel right about lying to his face like that.

"Alright, Naomi, I'll give you another dose. However, I will advise you to think about talking about your dreams some time soon. If you keep things bottled up like that too long it may cause more harm than good."

'Don't I know it,' Naomi thought dryly. "Thank you, _Greg_ ," she said with a friendly smile, seeing the pleased look in his eyes at the use of his name. Naomi left the office feeling relieved that he didn't force any further information out of her.

Elsewhere, in Icheb's new office, the former Borg sat with the former Voyager Captain, reviewing reports of the day with her. "Analysis of the re-ignition site is promising and B'elanna tells me the device is nearly flawless, though of course she still wants to run more tests. It's still a prototype so it could still fail, but that was always a risk," Kathryn smiled.

"Yes. I've gotten similar reports suggesting the stability of the project is sound," Icheb nodded. "But there is always a chance there could be problems after we initialize it."

"Do you mean the Borg? You think they could be waiting for us?"

"No, I don't believe the Borg would choose the same location to attack," Icheb told her with a shake of his head. He at least hoped not.

"But it _is_ a possibility, right?" Kathryn questioned. "The reports from the Delta Quadrant don't say exactly where they are stirring, only that they are. Would it not be wise to assume they would be trying to salvage their transwarp conduit hive and find out our testing location through it?"

"...A possibility," Icheb agreed. "Speculation isn't going to help us move forward with this though, is it?"

"You sound a little like Tuvok," Kathryn smirked.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Icheb smiled back. "Remember that I was only part of the Borg in the maturation chambers, and very limited time on a damaged cube. I can tell you what the Borg fed me while I was there, but aside from that I really couldn't tell you what the Queen has planned," he told her, rubbing his PADD in his hand, trying to distract himself from the familiar feeling of inadequacy.

"If the time comes when we have to face them again-"

" _When_ ," Icheb corrected.

"...When the time comes. I'm confident you'll help pull us through whatever she throws at us," Kathryn pat the young Captain on the shoulder. "And if not-" Kathryn shrugged, "-we've beaten her before, we'll beat her again."

Icheb was silent for a while, staring at the report in his hand without seeing it. Part of him wished Seven was there to help them with whatever Borg problems they could encounter, not trusting himself to be able to be as efficient a help as she could be. "Kate, I have a confession to make..." he began. Kathryn said nothing, just turned in her seat to listen closely. "Ever since you rescued me, I've had the fear of not being in control of my life. I was taken by the Borg when I was little, orchestrated by my parents who gave me no choice, and then with the limited time I had as a Borg I lost the ability to bring order and it was taken from me. I don't feel like I'll have control over this mission..."

"Is that why you did everything to prove yourself in the academy? And why you felt like you couldn't take this mission?" Kathryn asked gently.

"Yes," Icheb admitted. "I thought I had gotten over the fear of loss of control, but I suppose it is still in me."

"Every Captain in every century has gone through the same thing, Icheb," Kathryn began. "Every Captain has gone through fearing they would not be obeyed, fearing mutiny, fearing plans not working out, self doubt. Everything you're feeling is completely natural. Especially for a new Captain. Icheb, you can't control every aspect of life, or the people that serve with you, that's just unrealistic. But, maybe your experience on the cube served to help you understand that better as an adult, wouldn't you agree?"

"I... suppose not having everything go according to plan but making the best of what I had has helped me get through tough situations," Icheb agreed.

"Like when Seven's cortical node wasn't working? You weren't in control of that situation and we adults didn't listen to you... but you used whatever means you had to you and made us listen. You took control over a situation that the rest of us thought was hopeless."

"I guess you're right," Icheb smiled wider. "Kate, thank you. I needed to hear that I could do this. I suppose I just need to have more faith in myself," Icheb nodded to himself. "I'm very pleased you're here."

"I'm proud to be here helping you become the Captain I know you can be," Kathryn grinned, touched by his sentiment. Later that night, when his duties were over for the day, in an effort to distract himself Icheb chose to scour the length of the ship from stem to stern. It wasn't like he was feeling the sudden need to know his ship from its new light fixtures to the sleek new designs of the corridors, though it wasn't such a bad idea either.

Truth be told though, his mind was not just occupied with his self doubt or worries over hidden enemies either; no, half of his mind was occupied by his decision to bring his old friend onto the mission with him. He was completely justified he knew, just by the effort she put in daily to finely tune the scans showed the wisdom in his choice, sure, but it was also a never-ending struggle to keep himself away from her. Their moment in the lab had stirred in him the deep seeded craving he had previously relegated solely to his dreams. It escaped him and now it took everything, including his impressive cybernetic enhanced control, to keep from exploding, doing something he'd regret.

Meanwhile, Naomi looked over the data in front of her and shook her head. " _No_ , that won't work."

"Cadet, don't argue with me. Just apply the correction," Lieutenant Gary Jeremiah sighed, exasperated by his rebellious _assignment._

"I'm not going to intentionally sabotage the scan, sir," Naomi insisted.

"Sabotage? I was just trying to save you time! If you would simply listen to a more experienced scientist, you'll-"

Frustrated by the man's arrogance, Naomi interrupted rudely... though she'd argue that she was saving the mission pain and irritation by doing so. "Sir, whatever frequency you're trying to get me to use there just _won't be possible_ with that method," she argued, a stone's toss away from sounding like B'elanna. She and her supervisor, the in _her_ opinion _overly self assured,_ Lieutenant Jeremiah, had spent the last forty minutes trying to find the quickest method that tied the Astrometrics portion of a Tachyon Scan to the Wormhole Device. "Lieutenant, if you would just-"

"Wildman, you may be the top of your class but I've graduated from the academy, majoring in Warp Mechanics before it was a thought in your pretty little head!" the Lieutenant growled.

Naomi stiffened, offended by the man's attitude, though not for the first time. Warp Mechanics wasn't exactly the same thing, but fine. "Whether that's true or not isn't the case in the matter, Lieutenant," she argued. "Please, just let me explain an alternate solution."

"Alright, fine, what is your suggestion then?" Lieutenant Jeremiah prompted.

"While I'm sure you're aware, sir, the Tachyon Scan is meant to detect cloaked ships, right?"

"That's right," Jeremiah crossed his arms, leveling her with an expectant stare.

Naomi leaned against the console, settling in to her element. "Well then you can't simply treat the scan like any other. In this instant you aren't detecting something using the frequency to cloak. The frequency you're trying to use is too high, meant to scan for more tangible objects. If you focus it to here-," Naomi's fingers danced over the console, "-you can narrow the wave to detect subatomic particles consistent with quantum singularities."

The Lieutenant blinked at the screen for a moment, a little speechless that he'd made an error like that and the raw recruit had been able to point it out. "Impressive, Cadet Wildman," he yielded reluctantly. "Where did you learn that?"

"As you know, Tachyon scans can be used to detect natural anomalies like black holes if adjusted properly, but they're a little different than wormholes, right? Voyage was displaced by a Tetryon beam the first time, an enormous wave of a scan that went at it like a plasma storm. I was always curious about it when the story was told to me, so I researched the event-"

"What does that have to do with our scanner?" Jeremiah interrupted.

Giving him that one, since Naomi had interrupted him before, she patiently went on to explain. "I was just about to get to that, sir. I found that the Tetryon scan, while fundamentally different than Tachyons, share some similarities as they both work with subatomic particles. Since Tetryons exist only in subspace, I simply took the basic structure, like this-" Naomi turned back to the console and set out to adjust the band wave to the frequency she explained, "-into a sort of mask that mimics the signature, and applied it to the scanning frequencies," she finished, stepping away for him to examine her adjustment.

The Lieutenant leaned over and looked at the solutions. "I'll be damned," he mentioned in surprise, then turned to smile tentatively at the Cadet. "That's brilliant," he said, reluctantly warming up to the young woman.

Naomi shrugged. "I studied while others partied," was her simple reply.

After a long day of work, and somehow managing to get on her supervisor's good graces, Naomi found herself sitting in her old room in her quarters, brushing her hair. It wasn't exactly something someone would normally do to relax, but in that room, with that brush, watching Neelix's old morning show, it reminded her of years ago. She could just imagine it was her mother brushing her hair. In the end though, Naomi decided she couldn't just sit around, her mind too preoccupied. It was a little too early to sleep and she was feeling restless these days anyway. Deciding to go for a walk, she set off, letting her feet carry her to where they wanted.

As she walked through the corridors, Naomi paused a few times to greet former crew members and new ones alike, happy to be growing her family. Without meaning to, her feet took her on a path she had taken countless times in her youth. She found herself standing in front of a familiar cargo hold. She smiled, shaking her head at the predictable destination she currently found herself at, though she couldn't blame herself as she had spent many times playing or learning in that room. It was as close to her heart as it had been to the people who had resided in it. Coming to the conclusion that she was too curious to see how Starfleet changed the room, she stepped in.

Naomi would have laughed at the situation she found herself in, once again unintentionally finding Icheb again, if she hadn't suddenly felt a great deal of nostalgia, seeing him standing by his old alcove. Evidently Starfleet had decided to keep the Borg technology seemingly untouched, no doubt to make a better effort in studying the technology. Maybe they had forgotten to take it out for the mission? Or maybe they knew something the people on this ship didn't. Either way, Icheb had apparently had a similar inclination to check out old 'hang out spots'.

Figuring he was on a trip down memory himself, Naomi decided to greet him the unconventional way. "Good memories?"

Icheb's head whipped over to look her way, relaxing only slightly when he saw the beauty that often occupied his thoughts. Pushing away his distraction, Icheb smiled wistfully and nodded. "Yes."

Naomi hesitated a moment at the door, unsure whether or not it was _safe_ to be alone with him so much any more. She had little faith that she would be able to stop herself anymore. Taking a breath to calm down, she went in anyway and walked over it him, her eyes glancing over at the Borg tech. "I thought you didn't like being reminded of your time as a Borg?" she asked curiously.

"You're right. It doesn't mean I don't have fond memories of this place though," he revealed, all but stroking his alcove fondly.

Naomi leaned against a crate and regarded him curiously. "Like what?"

Icheb turned to her and thought about it for a moment. "Well for one, I have the majorities of my initial lessons here, my reintroduction to individuality," he began and turned to look back at his alcove thoughtfully. "I learned about myself and about how the close-knit crew operated. I helped the other children here too, with their own growth and their lessons. Yours too," his eyes flicked to her, a little smile playing on his lips.

"We did spend a lot of time here," Naomi agreed, smiling back whimsically.

"Like that time I tried to explain theoretical physics to you," his lips stretched attractively.

"Honestly Icheb, were you _trying_ to completely scare me away with all of that? I was just a kid!" Naomi laughed.

"Even then I saw your aptitude for education. You've always learned quickly; I guess I assumed you'd catch on really quick," he shrugged.

Naomi shook her head, smiling fondly at the memory. "Remember what I told you about your use of big words."

"They don't seem to trouble you so much anymore?" Icheb's brow lifted playfully.

"Well I'm an adult _now,_ Icheb," Naomi scoffed jokingly. "I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever _big words_ you throw at me."

Icheb grinned again, gazing at her with admiration as he walked over. He held his hands behind his back again, though at this point mostly to keep them _to_ himself. "You certainly _are_ an adult," he agreed seriously. "I believe I've mentioned this before, but you've grown into quite a breathtaking one."

Naomi shifted where she stood nervously, seeing the look in his eyes. "I guess," she smiled a little. "Thank you. I suppose you've gotten pretty decent enough with your age too, old man," she grinned, trying to remain playful.

"Old man?" Icheb pulled a face.

"Don't worry, like I said, you're pretty decent to look at," Naomi smirked.

"Just decent?" Icheb challenged, stepping closer. "Your words are damaging," he joked softly, leaning in slightly to her, making her breath catch. "I told you once before I could tell things about people easier than most, right?"

Naomi felt her body heat up from his body language, his confidence. The way he was behaving toward her told her that he wasn't going to let her resist him for long. "From your Borg implants?" she replied, leaning away a little.

"Yes," Icheb nodded slowly. "Do you know what they are telling me now?"

"What?" she asked in a soft voice, captivated by the steady way his body loomed toward her.

"They tell me of the way you're reacting to me right now, how my often... encroaching proximity to you, disproves your less than accurate description," he said, his tone level and collected. "I am much more than 'decent' to you."

Naomi became aware at the provocative intent in his eyes, his purposeful stride, and her inner craving for him to reach her. Going against her own wishes, Naomi whipped away from him before he got too close, before he tempted her to cave in to him again. "However way you may believe I'm... _reacting_ isn't going to make me change my description _,_ " she teased back, backing away from him. "You need to be brought down a peg or two anyway," she smiled nervously, her heart speeding as he continued walking over to her with an eerie calm.

"Is that fact?" Icheb's head tilted.

Naomi shivered at the single-minded behavior, knowing if she let him come any closer, all would be lost. She hadn't spent most of the day gaining back her control to let it all slip away just like that! "Yes," Naomi nodded. "But anyway, it's been a long day... I should go. I was just out for a little walk to clear my thoughts before bed," she explained lamely, still backing away from him. A part of Naomi knew she was playing hard to get at that point, but if she were being honest with herself, she _liked_ it.

Icheb stopped and sighed inwardly, wondering if his intent was too forward. "Right, me too," he said quietly, watching her backpedal out the cargo hold doors.

"Oh! Sorry!" Naomi flushed deeply as she bumped into a crew member. Fortunately the crewman was in a hurry and didn't stop to complain to her, merely waved her hand at her to brush the apology away as she went on her way. "I guess I... better actually look where I'm going, right?"

"Definitely a logical conclusion," Icheb's lips tilted up a little, watching her retreat with interest.

"Goodnight, Icheb," Naomi turned and quickly made her way out, inwardly berating herself for behaving like a little school girl. She could tackle pitcher plants ready to devour Voyager, horrifying macro viruses, the gaping maw of space with all its intricate complexities and a mission that was fundamental to the advancement of her studies, not to mention the _Federation_... and she couldn't behave properly around a _boy!_ Naomi sighed in exasperation.

The next day, Naomi and Icheb attempted to keep things professional once more, deciding things were just too crazy between them if they were on _familiar_ terms. This would be the fifth time they tried in that week alone though. As usual, her self inflicted torment, Naomi did all she could to avoid Icheb when she didn't have to make reports to him. The strain of their distancing was becoming obviously frustrating on Icheb, who long ago gave up fighting their interactions. On many occasions Naomi nearly caved, nearly went to him and gave in to her need for him, but she forced the impulse back, carrying on with her day.

Naomi thought she was home free, until after her afternoon report to the staff. Icheb stopped her before she could leave. "Naomi," he began, his expression unreadable as he studied her for a moment. "If it's agreeable with you, would you have coffee with me this evening?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," she told him warily.

"It's not a good idea for friends to sit down and have a civil conversation over coffee?" Icheb's brow lifted, though his jaw tightened in obvious frustration.

"You know full well we're not simply _friends_ , Icheb," Naomi reminded him dryly.

"What we are is a complete mystery, since you don't _let_ us really _be_ anything," Icheb replied in a stressful inclination. "Naomi, I'm not asking for us to talk about anything that would compromise us... but I do miss just talking with you. If you prefer, you can use it as an opportunity to relate the progress of your analysis to me."

"Alright," Naomi sighed, unable to resist him anymore, worried what that could mean but refusing to think about it.

"Thank you," Icheb inclined his head. "Will this evening at 19:00 work for you?" Naomi agreed and left abruptly. Icheb rested his palms on the conference table, taking deep breaths to contain his frustration. Naomi had told him countless times that he was stubborn, but she was definitely his equal in that matter. He had never met a more infuriating, rebellious, and irresistible woman in his life.

At precisely seven in the evening, Naomi alerted Icheb that she had arrived, having employed her personal set of stealthy techniques to get to his room without anyone noticing. Or so she hoped. When he let her in, she found that he had coffee and cookies waiting for them. Naomi gave him a disbelieving look, but he simply shrugged and smiled, gesturing for her to sit with him. Naomi went over and sat on the long couch, picking her cup up and smiling as she took a drink of it. "How did you know I liked my coffee like this?" she asked him curiously.

Icheb sat near her on the couch and smiled gently. "I have very good memory," he said simply, taking his own up. "I remember what you put in your coffee whenever we would meet at the diner. I remember _all_ of our moments together," he explained, his voice low and inviting.

Naomi shivered at the meaning in his words and forced herself to calm down, to try not to look around his quarters, try not to imagine them doing anything more than having a civil conversation. Whenever she had ever agreed to spending time with him in a relaxed environment, specifically one that included where he slept, such as his _apartment_ , things always got... complicated. "I... I have a report for you, as promised. The... analysis looks promising," she began, trying to keep their meeting as formal as she could.

Icheb studied her for a second, deciding he would play along for now. "That's good," he nodded, staring at his cup of coffee. "B'elanna says they ran every scan and performance test on the wormhole device. She says she's confident they can get it to work with minimal chances of a cascade."

Nomi nodded, relaxing a little. "I ran a frequency synchronizer with the wormhole device and our Tachyon scan today. I haven't completed my preliminary adjustments, but it's looking... promising," she explained, though couldn't seem to keep eye contact with him. "I'll write my report tomorrow afternoon, if I can tweak it to the way I'd like by then."

"I trust you'll use the best judgment with that," Icheb smiled a little. "So we have the device with all systems operational and the scan linked to it will soon be able to take measured readings on the wormhole," Icheb leaned back in his seat. " _Promising_ progress."

"Yeah, it certainly sounds like everything is in order," Naomi agreed tensely. It wasn't like Naomi was uncomfortable being there with him, on the contrary, she was too comfortable, too at home, and too worried over her own restraints around him. Every movement, tone of voice, and subtle hint Icheb gave her told her that he wasn't going to try to keep things business for long... and his next statement just proved it.

"Mostly," Icheb mentioned offhandedly, casting a meaningful look at her.

"What's that?" Naomi asked, pretending she didn't notice the way he was looking at her. "Remember, I'm not _enhanced,_ my hearing isn't as good as yours," she said, trying to keep the mood light and innocent.

"I said everything is in order, _mostly_. Some things are... questionable," he replied, his gaze still steady where he sat unnervingly patiently on the couch.

Naomi shifted, twisting the cup in her hand to keep her mind focused, unable to keep eye contact with him when he was looking at her _that way_. She was irritated by his bravado and by her own stubborn resilience toward him. "What do you mean, Icheb? Just say what's on your mind," she told him, feeling herself quickly becoming frustrated.

"I don't think you want to hear what is on my mind, Naomi," he said in a knowing tone.

Naomi knew exactly what he was referring to, her heartbeat flaring in her chest. "Is this is about... us?" she questioned quietly.

"Yes."

The half Ktarian pushed her cup aside and sighed, running her hand through her hair in agitation toward it all. "You know we can't," she said grimly, her eyes still refusing to meet his. "I thought you said we weren't going to talk about anything that would 'compromise' us?" she challenged.

"Why?" He demanded simply, his tone still frustratingly level.

Naomi pressed her lips together, getting more and more flustered. "Why what?"

"Why can't we talk about it?" he asked, his body shifting from his relaxed position and tensing. "Why can't you even look at me?"

Naomi groaned outwardly at his persistence. She ventured to look over at him, giving him a pleading look. "Icheb..."

" _Naomi_ ," Icheb sent back almost mockingly, now sounding just as irritated as she was. "Why do we have to resist it?" he insisted, his own frustration making him unintentionally fall back to Borg terminology.

Naomi looked away once more. "You _know_ why," she said glumly, hating herself for being so obstinate, but knowing it was important. "You're the Captain, I'm a Cadet, the mission is very delicate and the ship is very small. If we let it get out of hand it could..."

" _Distract_ us?" Icheb supplied.

"Yes," Naomi nodded slowly, looking at him pleadingly once more.

"That's all it would be, Naomi," he argued firmly. "You don't think I know the risks?"

"I know you do, _Icheb_ ," she remedied.

"Why were you willing to risk it yesterday, but not today?" Icheb pressed, referring to their _incident_ in Astrometrics, before Q2 interrupted rudely.

Naomi bit her lip and shook her head. "That... that was a slip. I just... It's bad enough that my dreams-" her eyes widened then. "My... dreams of being an officer," she quickly fixed, almost telling the object of her dreams that he was in fact the object of her rather intimate fantasies.

"What about your dreams of being an officer?" Icheb prompted, his brow lifting in confusion, though thankfully not catching on with Naomi's slip... or _so she hoped_. "You believe whatever we choose to do will effect your chances?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes! That's exactly what I think," Naomi insisted, getting ahead of herself. "I'm sorry if I come off sounding selfish but... how am I supposed to get through work when all I can... when all I can think about is you?" she admitted suddenly, her breath hitching, face flushing from revealing something so close to how she truly felt for him.

Icheb remained silent for a while, studying her rapidly reddening features. Naomi felt herself tremble when his eyes darkened in a familiar way as he slid closer to her on the couch. "You're not selfish. You occupy my thoughts as well," Icheb murmured, his hand slipping through her red locks to caress her cheek tenderly.

Naomi felt her eyes close on their own for a second, leaning in to his touch, completely drawn in by him. Her handle on the situation was weakening, she realized. "No," she shook her head, leaning away, trying to ignore the hurt look in his handsome features. No, she couldn't give in to him! Not yet, not when they were so close to a breakthrough. "I'm sorry I..." Naomi pulled away from him and stood abruptly, refusing to look at him, knowing she would crack the moment she did. "I think I..." she did _not_ want to leave, she really didn't. "I think I ought to go back to my quarters now. It's getting late," she said quickly, before she changed her mind. If she stayed, they would either explode at each other again or rip each others clothes off. As appealing as the second risk sounded, tomorrow was another full day of work and they were very close to finalizing the project.

Icheb stood as well, moving quickly in front of his door. "Naomi, we need to do something about this," he insisted, using his size to block her retreat.

Naomi knew he was right, had been wrestling with that since he asked her over, but him bringing it up just made it all real. If they _did anything about it_ , it could ruin the 'progress' they made in keeping things professional for the duration of the mission. "There's nothing we can do right now! I wish..." Naomi shook her head, she couldn't tell him how much she wished they could, it would break her already severely weakened resolve. "We need to think about the mission, we just... can't right now."

"You know we can," Icheb told her, as he walked toward her, forcing her to back up away from the door while trying to reach her rationally. "As I said, I know the risks. I thought this over. I'm not a fool, you know."

Nearly caving in to him, Naomi pulled all her remaining stops. "I never said you were a fool, but look, it would be more than a risk! If one of the officers who were a little more strict with regulations caught us... together, the consequences..." Naomi shook her head, refusing to think of how bad things could get for them. "Icheb, please... don't... don't make this any more difficult than it is," she turned, fully intended on leaving his quarters before it was too late. "It's better for the mission that... that nothing happen between us."

"The mission..." Icheb muttered resentfully. Half a year, six months, probably more, and he had reached his breaking point. "Not this time, not again," Icheb growled, his hand latching onto her arm before she could move too far from him. Being careful not to hurt her, Icheb pulled her back to him again. "I'm not letting you decide this for us again." While he did not grip her, he rested his hands on her arms, holding her close to him.

Naomi didn't even struggle against his hold, her heart betraying her, overruling her mind once again. Part of her _wanted_ him to stop her, _wanted_ something to happen between them, but she was afraid of those powerful impulses. "What are you doing? Let go!" she protested halfheartedly, though made no move to step away from his loose embrace.

"No. Not until you tell me you want this too," he argued simply.

"Icheb. For once in your life, stop being so stubborn!"

"For once in _your_ life, stop running away!"

"I... I can't tell you what you want to hear," Naomi refused to look at him again, his ever expressive eyes intense with too many emotions she recognized. How could they ever be able to focus on their duties if they gave in? How could they concentrate of the mission if all they could think of was each other? That wasn't even taking in to account how at risk they would be at being caught, as she had mentioned, there were a lot of new by the book crew members on board.

Icheb had absolutely no intention of letting her run from this however, could see her chewing on her lip, thinking of how to get out of this, even as her heart betrayed her, giving him free reign. If she couldn't tell him how much she wanted this too... Icheb took her chin in his hand, gently lifting her head to look at him. "Then show me," he said simply, leaning in slowly, his half-lidded eyes trained on her trembling delicate lips.

"Show you?" Naomi questioned half coherently as he drew closer to her. The familiar torrid swelter from his dangerous body encompassed her, shrouding her with an almost physical representation of his inescapable fervor for her. Like many times before, Naomi shivered at the intensity, but was unable to move away. How could she? How could she reject such an impossible drug? His very whim compelled her to him and she simply could not fight it anymore.

"Show me," the ex Borg repeated, drawing his arms around her, pulling her against him in a lover's embrace, sliding his hand over her cheek, not allowing her to escape. Time slowed to a crawl, both of them expecting to be suddenly interrupted again... but nothing was going to keep them from this, this time. Leaning in, Naomi's breath escaped her as her world filled entirely with Icheb's soft lips upon her's. If she were the type, Naomi would have sworn she had lost every bone in her body.

The second his mouth sought hers, lips slipping, teeth grazing, the deep seeded twisting spring that held them apart for so long fractured irreparably. And then, it was as though a surging spring of resonating electricity wove through them, entangling the very fibers of their souls as they gave in to each other. Before they could lose themselves completely in the moment however, Icheb pulled away abruptly, his eyes boring into her's. "Do not try to deny feeling this. Would you really still ignore it?"

Naomi stared at him for a moment, wrestling with the decision, fighting herself. In the end, against her better judgment, she knew he was right; they couldn't run from it and she couldn't deny it. She knew how much she wanted to be with him. "No, I can't ignore it," she told him finally, and pulled him back to her.

As they collided with each other again, the insufferable need they had felt for over half a year completely dominated their compulsions, sending them careening against the nearby wall. Naomi had thought feeling him against her had been amazing, feeling his heat, his hands on her body was euphoric, but feeling his tongue slip into her mouth? Tasting him, feeling him explore her with intense urgency?

Naomi moaned into the kiss breathlessly, feeling his tongue slip over her own before stroking the roof of her mouth, all the while his soft lips caressed over hers. Her senses were overloaded, his hands, his body, his heat, his taste. Icheb was everywhere and it was everything she could do to get ahold of herself. Holy hell, the man could kiss. The feel of his sensual mouth dominating hers made delicious heat pool between her legs and it was all she could do to not lose control.

In his impatience, Icheb's hands were everywhere, searching, pulling, tugging her uniform bottom to his body as he settled them against the wall. Desperate, propulsive asphyxiating demand for each other would not be denied this time. Icheb's only focus was on Naomi, pressing her back against the bulkhead firmly as he coveted her hot mouth with the desperation of a starving man. Tight coursing urgency threatened to make him mad, shuddering in delirium as she tugged on him roughly, her own craving unable to be satisfied.

Naomi felt his restraint, felt his shivering aching control to be free. Their impossible appetite forced them to cling to each other like life-lines, drowning in a sea of ravenous voracity. Icheb groaned into the kiss, felt her teeth graze the bottom of his lip, felt her leg slide up his until she wrapped it around him and was tugging at his hips suggestively, pulling him by his uniform at the same time. Icheb slipped, pressing her harder against the wall, their hips pushing into each other. Icheb rested his hands on either side of her as his body responded to her call.

Naomi drew her fingers through his hair, gripping his locks, craving more. Icheb answered, their lips parting only for a second for much needed breath, quickly returning seconds later only to deplete their oxygen from their lungs again. His glorious tongue returned to its rightful spot, sliding between her lips, tasting her, making her ache for more. She couldn't get enough. One solid, agonizing grind of his hips, of his muscled frame into her, instinct domineering Icheb's actions, and she nearly cried his name. The heat of pleasure coursed through her, drumming between her legs. It was enough to send them both violently shuddering as an impossible cascade of ecstasy assaulted their tender senses. The pent up inferno made them tremble with the undeniable force.

Icheb's breath left him and Naomi's body convulsed, the surprise of the pleasure it awakened in them making her buck against him instinctively. Naomi let out a breath, her leg around his tightening, pulling at his hip while her hand gripped his shoulder tightly, not knowing whether or not she wanted him to do that again. The sudden demanding need to feel his firm erection against her aching core was maddening, needing the added friction to quiet her growing swelter, but he was stubbornly keeping himself restrained.

Icheb fought with himself, but the kiss was drowning out his senses, the feel of her lithe, sensual body was making him lose his mind. Another slow, sharp thrust, his hips pushing her into the wall, nearly lifting her off the ground in his enthusiasm made them moan deep into the kiss. The impossibly addicting friction did its job and Icheb was suddenly overcome, unable to keep his normally locked down _effects_ at his control. The power of his unrestrained arousal was enough to make him groan in pain, but he held still, unwilling to make a dishonorable man out of himself.

As contradicting as it had been to his earlier desperation for Naomi to stop resisting _them_ , Icheb was the one to halt them. Stop them before they tore their clothes off then and there. His entire body screamed at him from the restraint, his throbbing need painfully compressed. He forcefully silenced his overpowering rage for more and ceased his movements, shaking with the effort. "Why...?" Naomi gasped as their mouths wrenched apart suddenly, her mental faculties not all working from their frenzied submission to their base need for each other.

"You... Naomi, we can't..." Icheb shuddered again, unable to properly word what it was he wanted to warn her about, even so he could not stop himself from pressing into her a little harder, moaning and berating himself for being masochist. Naomi arched against him from the intoxicating feel of him, but respected his need to stop, despite her mind screaming at him for doing so.

Oh Naomi was well aware what he was trying to warn her about, could feel the pretty substantial _problem_ pressing firmly against her thigh. The feel of him against her was just what she had been craving and it excited her to an immeasurable degree. She wanted so badly to reach for him, make him forget his resolve to stop them _again,_ before it got out of hand. Naomi bit back a frustrated moan, resisting the inclination to apply just a little bit of persuading pressure against him, but she couldn't do that to him. "Before it's too late..." he amended.

"Icheb, if you're telling me that you want me to leave, after forcing me to give in to you... I will knee you so hard you'll _wish_ the Borg removed _all_ of your _irrelevant parts_ ," Naomi growled, doing everything she could to ignore the deep aching desire within her he had spurred to life from his actions, mercilessly slipping away.

" _Naomi_..." his voice was strained, his knuckles on the bulkhead behind her crushing into it as his head hung, visibly trying to hold himself back. "You need to."

"What if I don't want to leave, Icheb?" Naomi stubbornly retorted in frustration, irritated that he would pull her into this agonizing realm of pleasure with him and then simply stop. She had been so firm about not starting this, had known this would happen, but God help her, she found him nearly impossible to resist. "What if I wanted to stay with you tonight?" she challenged him, trying to ignore the tormenting pleasure of being so close to him, so locked in their intimate embrace, and unable to do more about it. She knew she was being cruel and unreasonable, but damn it, this was becoming _ridiculous_.

Icheb rested his forehead on her shoulder, nearly panting from his effort to not give in. He wanted nothing more than to ignore his suddenly resurrected chivalry and pull her to his bed, show her how much she drove him crazy and make her as unreasonably distracted for the rest of the mission as she feared she'd become. Icheb's body rebelled against his refusal to her, but an irritating fleeting sense of moral duty remained in him still. "Don't tempt me, Naomi, please... " he said, his breath leaving him in a shudder. "I'm sorry I forced you into this... I'm sorry."

Naomi heard what he was trying to say between the lines, and her heart clenched for him, loving him all over again. He wasn't just sorry for arousing them nearly to the point of pain, but for starting this in the first place. "Icheb, I'm tired of this..." Naomi told him softly, her cheek resting against his head, her hand stroked his short hair soothingly, lovingly. "You're going to give me emotional whiplash. You said it yourself... it's so hard to fight..."

"I know," he mumbled against her. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"I'm not."

Icheb heard her tone and winced. "Naomi, I'm-"

"-I'll see you tomorrow, _Captain_ ," Naomi deadpanned, slipping under his arms and out of his quarters before she could change her mind.

Icheb stood there a moment longer before angrily slamming his fist against the bulkhead in agitation. Why was he such an impulsive idiot? Crashing against the wall, Icheb made his way to the bathroom with a struggle. He knew a simple 'cold shower' even if he programmed his sonic shower for it, would not help him tonight. This was not the first time he would have to use _traditional_ methods in alleviating himself of his tortuous thoughts of her, he just wished he didn't have to resort to it.

Naomi took her sedative, as well as used every calming technique, remedy, and myth she could think of. Angry at him, at herself, and at the stupid mission. She knew she would regret thinking the things she did about it all later, but for now she was too enraged with the universe to care.

The next day, Naomi unintentionally impressed Lieutenant Jeremiah again with the effort she put in, throwing herself into her work with everything she had.

 _Damn him!_

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** Ugh seriously, Icheb, make your damn mind up! I'm going for realism this time. Also, long chapter is long! I thought this was going to be a short one, lol! Parts of this chapter influenced by the song "Show Me" by Alina Baraz & Galimatias. It almost perfectly reflects both of their feelings, both the singers singing to each other about their desire for each other. Kind of perfect. Title of the song completely unrelated to dialogue in the story, it was entirely coincidental.

Shout Outs

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** I'm glad you did. I've been fond of that character since his introduction in Voyager. I felt the story wouldn't be complete without him! If you want to draw an illustration, go for it!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

That morning, while the fiery redhead worked harder than she ever had since she accepted the mission, Icheb sat in his seat on the bridge tensely, glaring holes into the carpet. He had gotten almost no sleep that night, and the little sleep he did get was filled to the brim with irrepressible images of the woman he was completely in love with. As always, it was entirely his fault and he knew he had to deal with the consequences. He knew she would still be upset with him, no doubt try to avoid him that day. It didn't help matters at all that his voracious need for her to be in his arms distracted him from his duties more so now than ever.

"Something wrong, Icheb?" Tom asked curiously, having been giving him a look of concern for a while now, without the littlest bit of inclination that the younger man noticed. He glanced around then, making sure he had not accidentally disrespect his Captain by calling him by his name in front of any wet-behind-the-ears crew members. He ignored Tuvok's raised brow and relaxed when that was not the case.

Icheb inwardly sighed at the question, knowing his dismal mood would have been picked up by those closest to him. "Nothing is 'wrong'," he responded automatically, his tone bordering on mechanical. It was partially true, neither he nor Naomi regretted what they had done, not really, but they were now facing the very same troubles Naomi had been trying desperately to avoid. As usual, he had let his passions get away with him again... it was his fault for their suffering.

Tom Paris knew better. Ever since they started this mission, Icheb had been spiraling into a rigid state of stress... and he knew it had nothing to do with the success of the mission. Well, very little to do with it at any rate. Since the little party, Tom had become aware of the strain between the young officer and the former innocent babe of Voyager. Though it was plain to see that she was no longer innocent, especially when it came to her interactions with the very young Captain. It was a very interesting development he and B'elanna had been keeping an eye on since then. Those two thought they were fooling everyone, keeping their obvious feelings for each other from the public eye.

"You have an argument with _Cadet Wildman_?" Tom's brow rose in a challenge, expecting Icheb to deny it.

Startled, Icheb stared at his old friend in surprise. How much did the man know? "Not... exactly..." he muttered in denial, glancing around the Bridge cautiously. No one seemed to be listening in on the quiet conversation.

"Don't sweat it, even the best of friends can get into a huge row and not talk to each other again for a few days," Tom assured him. While he was fully aware that the two seemed to be more than friends, he was tactful enough to keep Icheb thinking their secret was safe. It didn't mean that he couldn't play wing-man though, even if the younger man didn't realize that was what he was doing!

"Yes... you're right. I will keep that in mind," Icheb shifted uneasily in his seat, getting the impression that is first officer was hiding something, knew too much somehow. In an effort to distract himself, Icheb decided to ask something that he had been wondering about. "What is the Admiral doing these days? I don't see her much?" he asked aloud.

"I'm not sure," Tom shook his head.

"I believe Admiral Janeway is attempting 'bond' with the crew and help aid them in matters of scientific pursuits," Tuvok answered without looking up from his station.

"Is that why B'elanna's been testier than usual?" Tom joked, mostly to himself.

"Pretty sure it's you that's making her testy," Harry mentioned idly, working hard at his own station to get everything in order with the project before the midday report.

"I'll be in... my ready-room if anyone needs me," Icheb told them, getting up and leaving the bridge. Tom noticed the troubled look in his friend's eyes and wondered if the little tease about B'elanna reminded him about his own fight. Figuring the young man could use some advice, specifically in the privacy of the room where they could talk about Icheb's _true_ feelings, he followed him in. "Tom, how can I help you?" Icheb asked as he sat on the long couch to look out into the stars.

Tom Paris stood in the center of the room, regarding the younger man curiously. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Always," Icheb replied quietly.

"Icheb," the Commander began seriously, catching his attention. "I know what's going on between you and Naomi," he said simply.

Icheb stared at him for a good while, feeling unsure whether he should deny anything 'going on' or not. "Will you report us?" he questioned levelly.

"Of _course not_ ," Tom frowned. "You really think I'd do that to either of you? Besides, you're not at the academy anymore-"

"She's still a Cadet," Icheb interrupted. "Procedures states that-"

"With _all_ due respect, Icheb, procedures don't _always_ know what's best in every situation. Does it even matter?" Tom shook his head and walked over to sit on the chair across from him. "You love her?"

Icheb didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

Tom smiled at his quick reply. "Then it's worth the risk. Don't let precious moments slip by because of _procedure;_ you'll never know if you'll ever get the chance later. Besides, none of us would ever say anything or judge either of you. You two are like siblings to us! Sure, you're unconventional siblings that have the hots for each other but..." he trailed off teasingly, smirking at the subtle flush on the younger man's cheeks.

" _We_ are _not_ like siblings," Icheb muttered dryly.

"Not anymore you're not," the older man grinned wider.

"...Indeed. Who else knows?" Icheb asked cautiously.

"I don't think anyone really knows. B'elanna does, but only because she was with me when I really took notice of you two. I have a suspicion Tuvok and the Admiral might know too, not sure though," Tom shrugged.

"Perfect," Icheb sighed and leaned back in his seat. He didn't like the idea of too many of them knowing, since it could be a risk in 'the secret' getting out and getting back to Starfleet. Perhaps he was being overly paranoid though. Still, he was slightly relieved that he at least had someone to talk to about this. "It's simply that-"

At that moment, both of their communicators went off. "Tuvok to Paris and Hansen. We are being hailed by a Cardassian vessel, pursued by another." Both men stiffened and stood quickly, rushing to the bridge.

"Let's see it," Icheb suggested, stepping to the center of the room. The screen showed a small Cardassian research vessel being fired on by a heavily armed Bajoran frigate. "Answer hails."

"It's audio only," Harry told him, placing the call through.

"…-Being _attacked_ by… Request…. transport!…. Please help…. warp core…. breach… fifteen seconds!…. _hurry_!" said a frantic voice through the ship's amplifiers.

Icheb tensed. "Red alert!" he called before whipping his head over to Harry. "Bring him on board!"

Harry Kim's fingers danced across his station as he worked to quickly save the man's life. "We have him, sir."

"Security detail to Sickbay," Tuvok spoke into his badge.

"Ensign, full reverse impulse. Back us away from that ship," Tom told the officer at the helm. Part of him itched to take control, but knew he had to give the prospecting pilots a chance to 'drive' too. Voyager narrowly avoided the explosion of the small craft, rocking from the effect. Now they had the bigger ship who attacked it in the first place to deal with.

"Hail the Bajoran ship," Icheb ordered. A very disgruntled old Bajoran man sat at the edge of his seat on his bridge, glaring holes at the ones who dared stop him. "I am Captain Icheb Han-"

"What is the meaning of this? How dare you rescue that worthless scum!" The Bajoran growled. "Hand that piece of filth over to me!"

"Captain..?" Icheb ventured, trying to stall the enraged man.

"Rohn Vett," the man spat.

"Captain Vett, what has the man done to deserve your anger? Is he a criminal?"

"It's none of your business."

Icheb's jaw tightened. "Captain, we are not in the Bajoran system nor are we in the neutral zone. We are in Federation space, so you _will_ tell me what is going on or I will have to use my authority to _get involved._ " Icheb warned him, standing with his back straight and head held high. This was his first conflict as a Captain... he just wished it wasn't in such dire conditions.

The man bristled and squirmed angrily in his seat. "Very well," he glowered. "You would like to know _why_ I've chased this... _man_? I'll tell you why. This _man_ , has been charged with over five million counts of my peoples _slaughter_!"

Icheb suddenly understood what was going on. This man was part of the Kohn-Ma, a terrorist sect of the Bajoran people, much like the Maquis had been for the Federation before their elimination. They continually sought vengeance over the Cardassian occupation and subsequent brutality years ago. They were criminals to the Federation and Bajoran government alike and Icheb was suddenly burdened with the duty to bring justice to the situation. "You are Kohn-Ma, correct?"

"We are," the man snarled proudly, uncaring over the consequences of his admission. "I'll warn you just this once, Starfleet. Don't get in my way. Just had him over and we can part on civil terms."

Icheb noticed Kathryn step onto the bridge from the corner of his eye, but didn't look away from the agitated Captain. "You know I can not do that. Even if you were not Kohn-Ma and charged with acts of terrorism-"

The Bajoran stood from his seat, enraged. " _Terrorism!?_ I am liberating my people!"

"The war is _over,_ Captain," Icheb shot back, already having felt tense all morning and not having the required finesse and temperament to dealing with terrorists. Still, he had _codes_ to go by and he would follow them to the letter. "Firing upon that ship in Federation space violates our treaty with the Cardassians. If you persist-" the screen went back to the view of the ship abruptly.

"They've cut off communication, sir," Harry mentioned.

"They are charging weapons," Tuvok warned them.

So 'peaceful negotiations' were over? Fine by him. If they didn't want to come peacefully, he would make them submit to justice. As much as he hated to associate himself with anything Borg, seeing as Voyager was the superior vessel, at this point the mechanical terrors' motto was given; their resistance would be futile. Icheb turned to Tuvok. "Disable their weapons."

Voyage fired on the ship, using their newly upgraded tactical operations and weapons to get through the attackers shields and damage their weapons before they could fire. That, however, did not deter them. "They're coming right at us, sir!" the Ensign at the helm said, panic evident in her voice.

"Evasive maneuvers," Icheb took his seat next to his first officer, bracing himself for the impending collision. Kathryn clenched the railing behind them, her eyes trained on the view screen. Every part of her that was still the Captain of Voyager for seven years told her to take command of the situation. However, every action Icheb had been taking so far eased her instinct, knowing in this trial by fire that he was doing admirably.

"They're making a charge, sir. They're on a collision course," Harry said, trying to do what he could to get the ship ready for the possible impact. "I don't think they want to risk getting arrested," he muttered to himself.

Icheb grimaced at the possibility, knowing a high speed impact like that would tear through their shields and cause a lot of damage. "Disable their engines. Tractor them in. We'll tow them to Bajor if we have to."

Tuvok attempted to fire on the ship where he detected their engines to be located, but something was wrong. "No effect. Their shields are back up. They are too close. Even if we managed to disable their engines, their momentum would reach us in twelve seconds," Tuvok explained.

Icheb glared at the carpet, knowing what he needed to do but hating it. "Deploy armor. Remove the threat," he said grimly. "Fire at will."

Kathryn quickly glanced around, watching her old crew quickly take the younger officer's orders immediately, never questioning his judgment. At that very moment, Kathryn knew Starfleet had made the right decision with him. Despite her belief that Icheb was an intrepid, brilliant young man, she had still inwardly questioned promoting Icheb so quickly to Captain, even acting. While, yes, a Captain needed the knowledge Icheb had absorbed while in the Academy, they still needed the command experience as a Commander to initiate them into total leadership. Kathryn feared that he would freeze, not know how to handle situations with a great need for command... but seeing him quickly take command of the situation and make practical, tactical decisions succinctly diminished her worry.

"Aye sir. Deploying armor." Tuvok input his commands and sent his orders to release a volley of quantum torpedoes. The torpedo fire tore through their shields and into the rapidly approaching ship. Unable to get away quick enough in time, Voyager's armor just finished its protective casing barely in time as the shock-wave of the massive warp-breach infused detonation jarred them violently. Sparks flew, lights blew, and people were unceremoniously flung from their stations. Their shields and the armor had absorbed most of the explosion fortunately, but dim lights and the smoke still spiraled around them ominously.

"Report!" Kathryn yelled, coughing as she forced herself up from where she fell.

Lights flickered back to life as the officers straightened and went back to their stations, checking the damage. "Reports coming in from all decks. Minimal damage thanks to the armor and only minor injuries," Harry announced with a sigh of relief, having feared worse.

Icheb resisted the urge to slump into his chair, but instead held himself still where he stood after being knocked out of it. With all the improvements they made to the ship, they _still_ hadn't implement seat belts. "I'll give my report to Starfleet in my ready-room. Admiral, will you join me?" he asked, hoping Kathryn's experience in diplomacy could help with the potentially tense situation.

"Lead the way," Kathryn motioned with her hand and followed him in.

Icheb and Kathryn stood by Icheb's computer and sent a message to Starfleet, explaining the situation and the result of the conflict. Within moments a call went through from Starfleet, and they were surprised it was from Admiral Benjamin Sisko on Deep Space Nine. "Admiral, good to see you," Kathryn smiled.

"Always a pleasure, Kathryn," Sisko smiled tightly, then turned to Icheb. "...Captain Hansen, is it?" Sisko questioned, appraising the young Captain curiously. He had heard of Icheb Hansen's promotion through his channels in Starfleet, had been with high ranking officers to discuss the former Borg's valuable contributions and insights. Even Admiral Picard had taken an interest in him. Admiral Janeway had a lot to say about him and he had spoken at lengths with the former Voyager Captain about all the things they had endured with his hated enemy when they returned from the Delta Quadrant. He had been interested in the careers of both of the former Borg who aided the Federation, particularly this ambitious young officer who seemed to be gunning for them.

"Yes sir," Icheb nodded, holding himself as confidently as he could. Icheb had done is own research before and knew full well who Benjamin Sisko was and his accomplishments. Sisko was well known for his terrible history with the Borg and how he fought valiantly to defeat them.

Sisko leaned forward in his seat, resting his entwined hand on his table, near his baseball. "I was surprised to get the message from Starfleet to address this situation. You said in your report that Kohn-Ma attacked you?"

"Yes sir," Icheb replied again, trying to remain calm.

Sisko noticed how stiffly the young man held himself. "You're not in trouble. At ease Captain, before you pop a vessel," he said in an attempt to alleviate the tender situation. Icheb visibly relaxed but only slightly. Sisko figured it would be the best he could get so went on. "I've had dealings with Kohn-Ma, I know how unreasonable they can be. I'm sorry to hear you had to resort to such drastic measures," he mentioned gravely.

"They would have destroyed us," Icheb told him, coming to terms with the fact. He tried not to glance at his old Captain for her confirmation, for support; he had to start growing up and taking command _some_ time. Icheb knew that Kathryn was remaining silent for his benefit and he appreciated her for it. "It is unfortunate we could not bring them to justice, or at least let their government deal with the matter themselves."

"Hm," Sisko nodded in agreement. "Things don't always go the way we want it," he said, though by his tone it sounded more like he was speaking of his own experiences.

"Admiral, would you be willing to assist us with this matter? I'm afraid we can't get too involved in political matters at this moment," Icheb asked.

"I would be happy to help. I will see to it personally, Captain. I've been looking forward to getting some excitement in. The Defiant has recently undergone a re-activation and refit. I will see about getting it out to aid you with this. We'll take the Scientist off your hands then. Maybe he can find transport back to Cardassia from one of the stations," Sisko told him.

"Thank you, sir. We'll transport him over as soon as you arrive," Icheb nodded.

"That may take a while," Sisko warned him.

"Understood, sir," Icheb nodded.

"If you care for a little company, Captain, Admiral, I would be thrilled in assisting you with the project?" Sisko offered, not letting the chance to aid them in this momentous event escape him.

Icheb thought about it. Even after it's reconstruction, the Defiant was an extremely versatile little ship with many upgrades of its own even before subsequent refittings. They could certainly assist them and provide extra help to them if events turned sour. "Thank you, Admiral, we would appreciate the assistance," he agreed.

"Excellent! I'll see you both soon," Sisko grinned.

When the call ended, Icheb stood staring out his window pensively. "First conflict as a new Captain. Relish these moments, Icheb, pretty soon they'll become routine," Kathryn smiled carefully, trying to break through the young man's obvious dismal mood.

"I'm not sure I can feel good about what happened, Admiral," Icheb mentioned stiffly. "Even if they _were_ terrorists, they were still living beings. We killed them... _I_ killed them."

Kathryn studied him, inwardly nodding in approval. Most new Captains would feel thrilled at their first taste of combat in their command, particularly a 'victor' such as this one. Icheb remained analytical and humbled by the situation. The more she observed from the new Captain, the easier she felt it was going to be to release her treasured ship over to him. "They fired on us first," she argued, trying to ease his conscience. "As you said, they would have tried to destroy us. You had no choice but to give the order. It was the right move."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's easy to accept," he said glumly. His experience as a Borg, the little bit that it was, had him and his _siblings_ abducting innocent people and torturing them to death, since they did not know exactly how to assimilate correctly. Icheb shuddered inwardly at the gruesome memories. "I held their lives in my hands."

"This wasn't you as a Borg drone," Kathryn reminded him gently. "It's never easy to deal with, for anyone. But you have to remember, you just saved the lives of not only your crew and the Cardassian scientist, but goodness knows how many other innocent people those terrorists might have gone after," Kathryn explained. "The burden of command, Icheb, is knowing that sometimes you have to make ugly decisions... even if it means chipping away at your soul for the good of others."

Icheb nodded in understanding, staring unseeingly into the gaping maw of space, trying to calm down from the incident. "If you don't mind, I'm going to stay here and try to clear my mind," he said quietly.

"Of course. I'll go check on our guest," Kathryn pat him on the shoulder affectionately and left him in peace. Icheb sat at his desk and sent his instructions for accommodations for their temporary guest, then sat back and stared out of the window once more, mind filled with troubled thoughts both recent and from long ago. It took Icheb a little longer than he was comfortable with getting over the incident, wondering again how ready he was at being a Captain. When he returned to the bridge, however, the approving looks from the former crew eased his mind. Maybe everything would work out?

Several hours later Naomi stood with her supervisor, blinking in astonishment at the success their calibrations and data mining collected. If things went as well as this, they could establish a proper link to the other side of the galaxy to boost their wormhole's stability. "This is good," Naomi smiled.

"It is. The Captain will be pleased with your efforts. Good job, Cadet," Jeremiah smiled.

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Naomi grinned back. She was finally starting to get the usually stuck-up Lieutenant to warm up to her, which meant her work was a lot more relaxed and enjoyable. The thought of reporting to Icheb about it though, while it was certainly make him and the rest of the team happy, also meant she would have to look at him after not properly dealing with what happened between them. She had known it would complicate things between them if they ever let themselves get carried away, but was very tired of fighting it at the same time. Naomi thanked her furious attempts to focus on her work, and then the sudden attack earlier, for distracting her... but now it was time to face the music.

During the meeting that afternoon, ever the observant one, Tom Paris watched his two youngest friends interact with interest, casting a shared knowing look with B'elanna. If the trouble earlier with the Bajoran and Cardassian crisis was enough to stress their Captain out, Naomi Wildman's clipped tone and refusal to look at him properly made it even worse. Naomi's report was very good news for them, but Icheb only seemed to be able to send pleading looks her way. Naomi on the other hand seemed to be determined to not notice. Something had to be done, and Tom had an idea. Naomi only spared Icheb a brief look and addressed him with respect before retreating with everyone else. Tom followed his wife through the corridors, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Alright, what's with the face?" B'elanna questioned.

"What face? This one?" Tom pointed at himself and grinned boyishly.

"You're cute when you're plotting something," the half Klingon smirked. "What is it?"

"I think it's time we help our good Captain out a little," Tom grinned.

"I didn't see anything wrong with him?" B'elanna rested a hand on her hip. "Are you trying to butt into his romantic life?"

Tom snorted lightly. "He doesn't seem to _have_ a romantic life, that's the problem!"

"Tom, it's really none of your business. Besides, you can't just hook him up with whoever yo-"

"Naomi Wildman," Tom interrupted with a knowing smirk.

"Really, Tom?" B'elanna rolled her eyes. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this."

"You saw it yourself! Those kids look about ready to pop! They have their panties bunched up for each other bad and they're clearly avoiding it."

B'elanna scrunched her nose at his colorful description and rolled her eyes. "They're _hardly_ kids anymore."

"Mmhm..." Tom nodded slowly, his mirthful eyes dancing with plans.

B'elanna pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing there was no way of stopping her husband when he had his mind set on something. Still, this was better than letting him try to rope Harry into this. "And you think _you_ can help him with _romance_?"

Tom crossed his arm and leaned in toward her. "Well, I romanced _you_ didn't I?" his grin widened.

B'elanna kissed his cheek tenderly. "I'll give you that one, flyboy," she relented. "Alright, what is it? I may as well play referee."

Tom rubbed his hands together. "Great! Alright, here's what we'll do..."

That evening, after her shift ended Naomi swung her head around when a familiar voice called to her, stopping to let B'elanna catch up to her. "What's up, B'elanna?" she asked curiously.

"Well," B'elanna began, hooking her arm around the younger woman's, directing her down the hall. "I just wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to try a new and very fun holodeck program with me! Before you try to get out of it, we've all noticed how hard you've been working and the progress you've made. It's _very_ impressive, little Wildman, but you need as much of a break as anyone else on this ship."

"I don't know," Naomi sighed, rubbing her neck. She _had_ been feeling very pressured and frustrated lately. "What kind of program is it?"

"It's just a run, with a bit of an obstacle course in it, nothing too stressful but enjoyable all the same," the older woman smiled.

"A run?" Naomi's eyebrow lifted. "Like a race? With what?"

"Not really a race, just a stress relieving run and with you're feet of course. Nothing like getting the blood pumping and heart racing like an old fashion jaunt through the woods."

Naomi inwardly snorted unladylike. She certainly _didn't_ need her heart racing or blood pumping these days, but she trusted in her friend's lead. "Alright, I guess I can give it a shot."

"That's the spirit! Come on." Naomi let her all but drag her down the corridor.

Elsewhere, Tom was having a bit of trouble trying to convince his Captain in doing much the same. "All I'm saying is as a Captain we've all noticed how stressed you've been. Especially with the incident earlier! A bit to distract yourself with an old chum will help, trust me."

"Why do I get the feeling you're up to something?" Icheb asked warily.

"Me?" Tom pointed at himself comically. When in doubt, use humor! Unfortunately, as adapted as Icheb had become to their culture, it didn't seem to work so well with him.

" _Tom_ ," Icheb pressed.

"Come on, Captain! I promise you'll enjoy it," Tom insisted.

Icheb let out a breath, knowing the older man was up to something but agreeing that he could use a break. Besides, he was due to come off duty in a few minutes anyway, he may as well. "Alright..." he agreed reluctantly, allowing the happy-go-lucky officer guide him out. When they reached the holodeck door, Icheb found himself staring at B'elanna and a very exasperated Naomi, who was giving said half Klingon an annoyed look. Knowing nothing good could come out of whatever it was Tom had planned, Icheb decided a tactical retreat was in order. "I believe I neglected to finish a report to Starfleet. I'm afraid I'll-"

"-Oh no you don't! With all due respect, _sir,_ and forgive me for going out of line with this, but Icheb, if you don't go in there and do something for your stress that's been distracting you all week, I will personally take a bat'leth to your _head,_ " B'elanna growled.

Icheb's jaw tightened slightly, unsure whether to point out how aggressive that threat was, or just go along with it. In the end he decided they were all too good of friends to bother with regulations anyway. Besides, at the moment he still very firmly resented _regulations_. "Very well," he agreed finally. Naomi followed them in silently, figuring the run would at least help clear her mind.

"The program is simple. This is a six mile run through the woods there and back. In the middle are a few obstacles and scenic routes in case you get bored," Tom explained. Right after explaining the function of the program, Naomi took off, demonstrating her athletic prowess she had acquired over the year. While Tom and B'elanna hung back slightly, Icheb pushed forward to catch up to her.

"Something I can do for you, Captain?" Naomi asked dryly, not even sparing him a glance.

"Naomi, you can't keep avoiding me," Icheb said as he kept pace with her.

Naomi continued to look straight ahead. "I'm _not_ avoiding you. I'm... thinking."

"And have you finished _thinking_?"

"Icheb, you can't just keep doing this to me... to us," she began tensely. "You make me feel like I'm about to _explode_ and then you push me away," she remarked in a low tone, hoping their friends behind them weren't listening in.

"I'm sorry, Naomi. I just... I would like to be a gentleman, and if we hadn't stopped last night, I would have... lost control. I wouldn't have been able to honor you," he explained.

"It's not just your decision you know," Naomi growled a little, irritated by his chauvinist view of the situation. "What if I wanted you to... lose control?" she told him quietly.

Icheb felt his breath leave him for a moment. "Are you saying you would be willing to _be with_ me? In that capacity? You'd be willing to risk... us?"

The hope in his tone was almost too much for Naomi. "...I thought it was obvious," she blushed. "I suppose you still have a lot to learn about women."

"I feel as though I could study women for the rest of my life and never fully grasp the way they think and behave," Icheb muttered.

"You're right," Naomi laughed softly.

"So what now?" Icheb asked, still jogging along side her.

"Now?" Naomi suddenly had a thought. If she was playing hard to get, it may as well be literally too. "Now you try to catch me," she grinned.

"If I catch you, will you let me make it up to you?" Icheb asked hopefully.

"Yes," Naomi nodded, feeling a blush creep over her face, wondering what he had in mind. "-But I have to warn you, I've been keeping up with my physical training, it won't be easy."

"I will not underestimate you, Naomi Wildman... but do not underestimate me either," he smirked lightly. "When I catch you, you must let me do whatever I feel necessary to help alleviate you of your recent distress, agreed?"

Naomi shivered, once again wondering what exactly he was meaning to do. "I agree," she consented. Whatever it was, Naomi knew he would never do anything against her will or anything to hurt her. "Alright then, catch me if you can!" Naomi shot off.

Tom and B'elanna heard a little of their conversation, knew they had made a racing bet, and wisely backed off from the run, slowing to walk and smiling knowingly at them. If they wanted to act like a bunch of teenagers in love, they were absolutely willing to let them. They grinned at each other and decided to take the scenic route, give them privacy to be themselves. They watched as Icheb took absolutely no mercy on Naomi. The half Ktarian was certainly impressive, but Icheb was specifically conditioned.

The thrill of the chase was on. Naomi bit her lip, grinning, feeling him hot on her trail, finding it exhilarating to be chased by him. Her legs pushed forward, lungs expanding, she had the stamina of an athlete, but Icheb had his technology to fall back to. Naomi felt the rush of excitement fill her as he gained on her quickly, his strong long legs closing the gap between them rapidly. Icheb pursued her like a predator hunting his prey. Naomi could see his shadow merging with hers under the 'sun', could feel his presence right on top of her and she knew it was useless trying to evading him.

Before she knew it, she felt his unreasonably mesmerizing heat of his body surround her abruptly, stopping them in their tracks. Naomi laughed, struggling playful in his embrace; she felt his strong arms encircle her around the middle while a deep chuckle rumbled in his chest, letting her feel it against her back. Their laughter died off when they suddenly became acutely aware of each other and of their dangerous position, though neither made the slightest effort to pull away, too far gone now to care how badly at risk of getting caught they were. "I caught you," Icheb mentioned in an inviting tone.

"You did," Naomi agreed breathlessly.

The way she pressed to his body, fit against him perfectly, the long nights agonizing over her, spurred the familiar deep broil within Icheb. Making his mind up to what he wanted to do, he leaned in close to her. "Let me make it up to you," he whispered against her ear, his hot breath tickling her. "May I have permission to touch you?" he asked softly, voice low and inviting. Naomi stiffened and shuddered at the suggestive question, her heart hammering in her chest, heat swirling deep in her belly. Was he asking what she thought he was? Naomi knew this was probably a bad idea, knew it would completely wreck that balance, that concentration in her duties she had been trying so hard to attain, but she also knew she couldn't find it in herself to deny him, so she had no choice but to agree. She did give him her permission before, after all.

When he received a nod of approval, Icheb hesitated for only a moment, hoping she would not reject his actions. He leaned in a little, compensating for his height difference, before letting one of his hands that held her by the waist slowly migrate down those hips with a purpose. He stepped closer to her then, bending slightly over her for better reach, his chin all but resting over her shoulder, the perfect height for this. Having had previous practice with this, Icheb was confident he'd be able to give her an enjoyable experience. Yeah, they could have chosen a better time and place, but when opportunity struck, Icheb took it.

Naomi's eyes widened, feeling his hand slide over her hip until he was slipping a few fingers beneath her legging waistband teasingly, holding them still for a moment. It was as though he was still seeking her approval. Naomi's eyes shut, fighting her growing arousal, trying to stay silent, but pushed up into his touch, letting him know she wanted this. Icheb, as attentive as he had always been, understood her meaning and caressed her gingerly, making that little pool of heat between her legs boil, her heart racing at what she knew he was about to do.

Icheb slid his hand slightly up again, this time under her shirt and over her belly to press on it, sliding over her skin and playing patterns. He kept it there for a moment while his mouth found her bare shoulder easily, aided by the sportswear she had on. With his tongue and his hands on her body, pulling her solidly against him, he let her know without so many words how much this past month and the vivid memories of last night had been driving him crazy.

Naomi's head fell back against his shoulder in complete submission to his touch, eyes shutting again, her lips parting slightly in dizzying anticipation. Icheb used the new access to her neck to let his tongue trail sensually over her pulse point, pressing against it, feeling her heart raging within her. "Icheb..." Naomi moaned, her head rolling to the side. Icheb wrapped his lips over her neck, sucking lightly, enjoying her coos and little cries of delight as his fingers spread apart trailing up steadily. His arm brushed against her chest, against the hardened peaks of her breast, and Naomi couldn't stop the gasp of intense need from escaped her, the unavoidable throb of pleasure humming through her body demandingly.

Icheb nuzzled his cheek against hers almost reassuringly, so many months of craving her, so many nights awake fantasizing she was the one making him cry out. He would let her know, show her how he tormented her, make her cry his name. Icheb let his other hand slip low again, dipping fully under her waistband with clear intentions. His hand slid over her legs, aided by the soft, lose material of her sweats. Icheb felt her shiver against him then, and stilled a moment, teasingly over the bare skin of her inner thigh. Naomi squirmed a little, the feel of his hand hot and unbelievably distracting, her body jolting in response to his intimate touch.

Naomi's throat tightened, becoming a barren wasteland from his gentle and absolutely maddening ministrations, and he hadn't even started yet. Why hadn't he started yet? Naomi had no idea Icheb was this much of a tease! She wasn't sure whether to feel pleased by this, or exasperated because she _knew_ he would be using it to his advantage. Icheb's long fingers hadn't moved from their precarious spot on her sensitive inner thighs, the pressure, the heat of them, a constant aching reminder to her of his intentions. Naomi did her best not to whimper in anticipation. This was not the touch of someone awkward or insecure as he had been in the past, this was a man's touch, a man who knew what he was doing, knew what he wanted, a man who had been keeping his desires chained up tightly for far too long.

Icheb's other hand pressed her further back, almost urgently as it slipped further up. Naomi gasped when his fingers grazing over the valley of her breasts, tenderly feeling her delicate swells stiffening harder under his fingers. He experimentally rubbed his thumb over a taut peak through her thin bra, testing it, enjoying the feel of her reacting to his touch. He began to rub her then, kneading her breast.

Naomi had no time to wonder just how much _experience_ Icheb had, as his other hand began to move again, searching until he found where he wanted to be, dipping between her legs and finding her warmth. Icheb let his head drop, the upraised ridge of his nose resting on her shoulder as it had the night before, doing everything in his power not to completely lose control once more, doing everything he could not to rip her clothes off and drive himself into her body, there in the middle of the holodeck floor, uncaring who else was around. His breath escaped him when she pushed herself further into his hand as a result of his exploration, her breath already leaving her harshly. Icheb smiled at her impatience, she had _always_ been impatient, and then very deliberately began to slide his hand over her heat, putting just a little bit of pressure on his strokes, just enough to make her pulsating need quicken dangerously.

"Icheb..!" Naomi hissed, her repressed need for more making her lose what little patience she still had left.

"Shh," he shushed her gently, a soft chuckle escaping him, making her feel the vibration against her back. Icheb knew he was driving her crazy, but it was all part of the plan. He slid his hand under her underwear then, hooking his fingers underneath the thin material obstructing his path. He heard her panting softly, felt how wet she was, slick with wanting. Icheb swallowed hard, shifting behind her as he forced himself to focus, to not react to her appealingly inviting reverberation.

Naomi felt her pulse in the heat of her belly, her body tingling at the feel of his long fingers, as he brushed aside the fabric. When Icheb slid his hand against her sensitive flesh, caressing her slowly, his fingers beginning to slide purposefully, exploring her, Naomi was unable to stop herself from eliciting a surprised cry, partly in pleasure, partly in frustration, feeling Icheb's own heart thundering strongly against her in agreement. Naomi strained against him, arching slightly again as he rubbed his hand over her enticingly, doing everything he could to make her lose her mind and succeeding.

" _Icheb_... please," Naomi begged softly, flushing at how submissive he had rendered her to him. She had never before been submissive in any sense, had held firm to her beliefs and asserted herself in her actions... but she had always had a weakness for him, even when they were kids and he got a little more firm in his directions. Naomi had always been willful, had gotten into trouble many times for it, but had also been respectful and understanding. This was different though, this was like a deep, inner lock was cracked and she lost all her will, falling into a pool of pliant surrender.

Naomi slipped her hands over his arms then, needing to distract herself. Her fingers traced over the curves of his irresistible physique, his muscles moving under his skin as he worked between her legs, feeling the power in his embrace, trapping her against his body. They were both aware that they were utterly destroying themselves now, but they were compelled to gravitate together.

In response to her plea, Icheb pressed harder, quickly finding where she needed him the most and mercilessly exploiting that tender little spot, knowing just where to rub, where to squeeze, until she was contorting wildly against him, sobbing in pleasure. Icheb was forced to press her harder against him, keep her still, making him gasp at the force he had to employ to stay controlled. Naomi's body twisted in his arms harder, completely at the mercy of his titillating touch, making her lip bleed as she bit down hard, panting harshly to keep herself as quiet as she could. Icheb felt himself stir impossibly at her violent reaction, but desperately did all he could to keep himself locked down, thankful once more to his unintentional Borg benefits.

Naomi's grip on him tightened, her legs losing the strength to keep herself upright as she shook with lust, relying on his supportive, trapping hold on her to keep her steady. She could feel his lips brushing against her skin, his breath tickling her as he nuzzled his cheeks against hers. Icheb leaned in further and she could feel his heat all but burning her back, her thin sportswear sticking to her as he pushed his hand further, the awkward angle making it challenging. Icheb was up for the challenge. He waiting to make his move until she was making breathless, high-pitch squeals, muffled through her clenched teeth with each twist, each rub, each agonizing torment to her aching arousal.

When he was certain she was about to explode, he stopped rubbing. "Ich..." Naomi cried out suddenly, not knowing how to properly speak anymore as he slipped a finger into her, followed by another, but held still. Icheb moaned at the feeling, she was so wet, so soft, and so tight... his need to fill her was overpowering. Naomi twisted again, her body trembling with repressed desire. And then he began to move, working in tandem with his stroking thumb over her soaked clit.

Naomi's mind went completely blank, a flash of unyielding sensation blinding her, brutally assaulting her body. She arched again, staining against his firm hold, unable to stop from releasing a hoarse, breathless moan, struggling to control herself as he pumped slowly. Icheb was calculated, knowing exactly what cords to play to make her sing, despite her failing resolve to stay silent. And then she was falling apart, forcing Icheb to cover her mouth with his other hand as her walls brutally clammed down on his probing fingers. Naomi whined in pleasure, the full body ecstasy making her entire body tense in his hold.

Pulling his hand away from her mouth, he slipped his fingers out, holding still a moment for her to calm down. Icheb groaned at his restraint over his own desire and began repeating his previous teasing until she was squirming in his hold once more. "Icheb..." Naomi hissed, but he simply smiled against her and continued to torture her pleasurably until she was putty in his hands. Naomi tried to grind into her hand, tried to squeeze her legs to help her screaming need, but Icheb held her still. Naomi had no idea she would find this assertive attitude from him so unbelievable arousing, but holy hell did she ever. In no time at all, his skilled fingers forced her body to bend to his will, making her quiver, desire so great it was painful as she groaned helplessly.

Icheb strained his hearing, but heard no one near them so far. Part of him was aware that they were still on the holodeck and not alone, but he hoped they still had a little more time, he wanted her to enjoy this as much as possible. His lips laid a soft trail from her delicate neck to her cheek until he nudged her with his. Naomi turned to him and he captured her mouth in a drowning, sweeping kiss while his fingers continued to ruthlessly play agonizing patterns over the exquisite warmth of his drowning carnal thirst, muffling her shuddering plaintive cries of desire. Icheb's other hand slipped to her other breast, slipping under her bra then to very gently pinch the taut nipple, rubbing it repeatedly. Naomi quaked against his body, his tongue in her mouth muting her squeals.

Naomi tore from the kiss then, arching again as he paused for a second, slipping his fingers out and keeping her exposed, not letting her reach her rapidly approaching climax, forcing her to steadily come down from her pleasurable high. "Icheb!" she whined in haunting yearning, the painful need to finish clouding her thoughts. The inescapable need to have him fully inside her, riding her into the ground was like a fever that was consuming her. "What... what are you..?"

Icheb felt a full body shiver surge through him, the agonizing need to quench his own desire making it nearly impossible to focus, but he was not finished just yet. He knew that he was all but tormenting her now, but if he was going to prove to her how much she meant to him, he would show her, he would make her feel how he felt. He would make her understand how much his nights were filled with torture, let her understand the extent of the fire he felt for her.

Icheb was intimately aware how much agony this would cause her, but he also knew how much she seemed to like his assertive behavior. When he had discovered this in Astrometrics the other day, he had been surprised for a while. She hadn't said anything of course, but he had sensed it. Under normal circumstances, Naomi had a fiery, dominant attitude, so the fact that she had liked it when he had cornered her, it had caught him off guard for a bit.

Keeping that in mind, Icheb's hold on her tightened, kissing her cheek soothingly. "Not yet," he whispered, waiting just enough to bring her down a little. "I'm not done yet," he told her, making her ache for him so much harder. Naomi moaned low in her throat when he decided he had waited enough and slipped his large hand over her again, slipping his finger against that agonizingly raw little bud, her sex slick, making it easy for him to render her ravenous and peeling with cries of desire.

Naomi tried desperately to not scream as he began to gently push his hip into hers from behind, pulling her body to him as he rocked into her purposefully. The unbelievable feeling of him thrusting his hips against her from behind inspired tortuous images of him pushing her to her hands and knees, rutting her like an animal. The unexpectedly aggressive, sexually arousing fantasy forced her to writhe and shake against him, clenching her teeth, head swimming.

Icheb let his body press into her again, his own breath leaving him harshly as she panted roughly against him, but he refused to let her thrust into his hand, to buck madly against his tormenting touch, knowing it would make her come too quickly. Naomi had known he was a bit of a tease before, but _not like this._ Icheb maintained a persistent rhythm, every now and then pressing her ass against his hips, every now and then slipping another finger in or out of her.

How long would he make her wait? How long would he make her sob in need for him? Torment her until she couldn't take it anymore? Naomi could feel her body seizing again, desperately clenching against his pumping fingers, needing her release, but she knew he was doing everything he could to pleasurably torment her into an excruciating slow orgasm. If there was one thing she knew about him, it was his mastery of determination... in this case, determination to squeeze as much pleasure from her as he could.

Footsteps. Low voices drawing near. Icheb cursed inwardly, knowing she was going to hate him for this, but if the others caught them, they would not hear the end of it. Icheb knew they would never betray them. It was still too much of a risk to take. His hand stilled then, knowing their time was unfortunately up, though he kept his hand where it was, making her writhe against him. " _Icheb_ ," Naomi whined. No, not like this, she was _so_ close. " _Please_ don't stop," she begged him, feeling like she was about to come completely undone at any moment. "No. No, _d_ _on't_ do this again... not _now_."

"...I'm so sorry, Naomi, but I may have to..." Icheb said, heavy breathing betraying his normally technologically conditioned abilities failing him. Just like many times before, before their very undeniable cravings for each other could be alleviated, they were forced to remember that they had not come here alone. The footsteps of their companions drew closer and they knew they would have to once again part. "I'm very sorry, I... I suppose I forgot we were not alone," Icheb said quietly, very reluctantly pulling his hand away from her body as their friends neared. As strange as it was for him to neglect an important detail like Tom and B'elanna, Naomi could inspire the most uncharacteristic reactions from him.

Naomi nearly cried out in raw, mournful pleasure at the feel of his rough hand sliding out of her as he pulled away quickly. Her breath was harsh and her knees about to give out, her body screaming at her, but she forced herself to remain steady. Her body violently rebelled from his retreat but she did everything in her power not to vocalize her protest. "It's... okay," she replied with a struggle, forcing herself not to notice the once again intensely racking feeling of vehement lust that battered her body, mercilessly, achingly dissipating slowly. "I guess I... I guess forgot too," she admitted, taking a reluctant respectable step away from him and rushed to straighten her sportswear. Naomi really hadn't been thinking of Tom and B'elanna when she made that bet, hadn't thought of the consequences if he caught her, and _certainly_ hadn't even remembered they were even on the holodeck when Icheb began his _apology_. This time, it was on _her._

"What's going on here?" Tom asked curiously, a little knowing smirk toying on his lips. "Something wrong with your clothes?"

Icheb quickly hid his hands behind his back, using his familiar pose to clean himself off on his uniform temporarily. "We... had a race. I caught her and I was just making sure she was... undamaged," Icheb told him, holding himself straight, trying to look dignified. At the corner of his eye, he could see that Naomi was struggling to collect herself, visibly shaking and felt incredibly guilty at once again torturing her.

"And what was the priz-"

Tom was cut off when B'elanna kicked him hard in the calf. "So, either of you feel like going to dinner now? All this exercise has made me famished!" she asked, knowing their blossoming romance needed space to grow on their own. They had both noticed Icheb holding onto Naomi in a very intimate embrace, though only saw his back to them. From the distance, it looked like he was hugging her from behind, a little unusual for the amount of effort they had been making to stay distant. Even so, they didn't seem to want to part from each other any time soon, so that was good enough progress for her.

"I guess," Tom grumbled, not liking that he couldn't tease his little projects.

"Come on," B'elanna pushed Tom back down the path. "We'll get to the rest of the run a later time! You two join us when you're ready!"

Naomi and Icheb watched warily as their older friends marched back to the staring line with obvious intent. Naomi let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and raked her hand through her hair. "God _damn_ it, Icheb," she murmured in frustration.

"I'm sorry." Icheb had the good graces to look completely remorseful.

"...How am I supposed to concentrate on work now?" she sighed, still unable to look over at him.

Icheb shifted slightly. "If... if you'd like, since we have a little time left, I could help you reach-"

" _No_! If you- if we- again- no, Icheb, just no," Naomi shuddered and shook her head. "As... painful as it is, if you... do _that_ again, we could be here for a lot longer."

Icheb's brow rose at the implication, his heart racing and skin heating up. "You may have a point," he conceded.

Naomi took a few more minutes to calm down before venturing a peek up at him. "So... dinner?" she asked tentatively, her heart now racing simply by looking over at him. Well, this was just perfect, wasn't it?

Icheb remained silent for a little bit, regarding her question. "My place or yours?" he finally asked, leaning in a little into her space suggestively.

Naomi felt her breath leave her again. "Icheb..." she groaned in exasperation, her face flushing Ktarian red. After what they had just done... any more time alone together would utterly shred them apart at the seams.

"I was... attempting humor," Icheb smiled reassuringly, noticing the look of panic in her eyes. He hadn't intended this to make things even more strained between them, had in fact thought to would lessen it. Now he could practically sense her fluster, her irritation, her desire, and he didn't know whether to feel guilty, frustrated, or aroused.

Naomi relaxed slightly and blinked when he offered her his hand. Her throat dried immediately, noticing it was _that_ hand, but took it anyway, squeezing it when he entwined their fingers. They quite obviously still felt the pulsing rush of desire coursing through them, but knew that they couldn't do anything about it now. When they could, though, was still a struggle to come to terms with, since they didn't have a lot of time to be together during the mission. This was at least a step in the right direction for them though, and they had to reluctantly thank their nosy friends for pushing this on them.

However, how would they possibly be able to focus on the mission now?

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** Even I squirmed in my seat when I wrote this chapter. I always thought Tom and B'elanna would act like match makers, eager to help with their experience in romance with their friends? Icheb catching and pleasuring Naomi after the race was influenced by the song "See Through You" by Beacon, or actually, _anything_ by Beacon really. By the way, this 9k+ word chapter is a complete and utter rarity for me, I thought the last chapter was going to be the only one like this! Don't expect others this long normally.

Shout Outs

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** I didn't think the other timeline would work here and he'd still go by Joe. Time bonding with his creator would have most likely inclined him to a name closer to home. It made sense that Icheb would be struggling with self doubt, I just hope that I was able to appropriately show it further.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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Despite the fact that Icheb and Naomi were now ready to deal with how they felt for each other, especially after such an intense moment on the holodeck, ready to plunge into their relationship, they still had to remain distant during their work, which did not give them a lot of time to do anything about it. They would have to appear as collected and focused as anyone else, working diligently on their respective duties while on the inside they were burning for each other.

It had been about two agonizing days since their intimate embrace, and they had nothing to show for their progress in their evolved relationship since then. Nothing but mounting, screaming frustration that kept them awake at night. There was minimal distraction when Admiral Sisko had reported being on his way only a day later, a very brief distracting from falling apart, but it was only a temporary focus that was soon very quickly overshadowed by the immense climbing tension.

The night after Icheb had inspired in her a new appreciation for his hands, Naomi was in complete agony. She had tried to sleep, methodically did all her nightly routine and then settled in to bed... but the haunting memory of his touch, his fingers forcing her to sob with pleasure... no, sleep wasn't an option. No amount of exercise, boring reading material, or working overtime did anything to help quell her unquenchable longing either. Not even the sedatives had helped this time, she simply could not relax. All she could do was agonize over him, torment herself over and over with her need to have him with her, but nothing she did came close to how he had made her feel. In that moment of weakness, Naomi resented him, hoped he was suffering with no relief as well.

Naomi spent most of the next day completely avoiding him whenever she could, upset with him and herself for letting them go that far. It had been bad enough when they had kissed brutally in his quarters the other night, but then the holodeck happened. How was she supposed to focus on her duties now? Icheb had opened an entirely new realm of fantasies in her. How was she going to get anywhere with her work when all she could think of was his hands, his body, his mouth, imagining him dismissing Jeremiah and taking her hard against her console until she shrieked his name over and over?

This time, no amount of external aid would be able to help her with this and she _certainly_ did _not_ want to talk about it with the doctor! Counselor confidentiality or not! Fortunately, Icheb did not question her, did not ask why she was avoiding him, completely understood she needed space, and she was grateful for it. That night had been just as torturous as the previous, though she resolutely refused to try to ease herself of her suffering, unaware that Icheb was doing much the same.

The following day, Naomi did everything in her power to keep herself focused, which unfortunately meant she ran herself ragged through her work. The plus side was that she was making unbelievable progress with her efforts and probably assured she'd get a very high report from her supervisor. Naomi stood with Lieutenant Jeremiah on a holodeck simulation of the Astrometrics lab, ready to test their adjustments to their frequencies out. If this worked, they would get a signal from the Delta Quadrant directly from Voyager and be able to create their own wormhole. The result of their simulation was a success, making them cheer happily. This was good! That meant they only had to ensure that their path was clear and all of their systems were in order and they could finally establish a link to that section of the galaxy!

That afternoon, Naomi made her way to the staff meeting happily, having successfully distracted herself enough to be excited over giving her report to the team. After using all of the calming techniques that she could think of, Naomi had managed to find enough focus to discover a way to send subspace signals through a previously open wormhole without needing the singularity open. Her thoughts, as usual for these days, was then promptly interrupted.

"Naomi Wildman," said young woman froze and shivered, but turned at the familiar call and attempted to smile at her Captain as calmly as she could. "Were you in the holodeck?" he asked curiously as he walked over to her. Naomi tried not to noticed his chest puffed slightly at seeing her, how his walk turned into a purposeful gait, approaching her with long, efficient strides of his legs. She tried not to appreciate his conditioned form, or notice the heat of his towering body so close to hers.

Naomi cleared her throat and looked away from him. "Yes. Lieutenant Jeremiah and I just finished running a series of tests for the proper establishment of a link. I was on my way to the meeting to report on the progress," she told him carefully, waiting with him for the turbo-lift.

Icheb tried not to stare at her, tried not to give in to his impulse, the rapid loss of control he was prone to, the need to grab her, press her against the corridor, and give everyone on the ship a show. "I expect it will be an interesting report?" he asked tentatively, not fully trusting his voice.

Naomi peeked over at him. "Yes sir, I'm sure you'll enjoy it," she smiled tightly, seeing the quickly darkening look in his eyes.

Icheb regarded her for a second before answering. "I'm certain I will," he agreed slowly, taking a step closer to her, unable to contain himself much longer. Naomi bit her lip hard, her heart racing, knowing what he wanted and looked around them anxiously. "We're alone at the moment," Icheb reassured her, his hand sliding over her cheeks.

"Borg tech?" Naomi's brow lifted as he approached her, trying again to distract herself.

"Yes," he said simply, quickly, leaning in to her.

Naomi felt her breath hitch, lips parting in anticipation as his hot breath tickled over them. Icheb stepped closer, bending and tilting his head toward her, but a familiar sound made him stop. Naomi blinked in confusion when he then very quickly pulled apart, turning away to look at the lift. At that moment, the lift arrived and opened for them and Naomi understood that he had heard it. As they reluctantly stepped onto it, Naomi nearly sighed out loud in relief when the lift was not empty this time. Naomi wasn't sure what she was expecting to happen if they happened to be alone together again. It wasn't that she didn't want him, it was that she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop if they started anything. Naomi had seen the intention of kissing her, but in such close quarters, it would most likely escalate into something that could very quickly land them without careers in their future.

"Crewman," Icheb smiled tightly to the other passenger.

"Hello, Captain," the man smiled nervously at his superior officer.

They rode in silence, the tension in the little closet sized room boiling them in their uniforms. If he were the type, Icheb would have been shifting from foot to foot impatiently for them to be alone as an idea began to form in his mind. Naomi glanced over at him a little nervously, sensing his impatience. It was as she feared, but at this point, Naomi was resigned to the fact that as soon as they were alone again, Icheb would take full advantage of their solitude.

As though reading her thoughts, as soon as the crewman left the lift, he sprung into action. "Computer, stop turbo-lift," Icheb said easily and turned to her, leveling her with a look of promise. "Naomi," he said simply, stepping into her personal space. Despite her reservations, the half Ktarian was already reaching for him, unable to stop herself. She slid her hands over his arms, past his shoulders and tangled in his hair as he closed the gap, plunging his hot tongue into her mouth as they crashed into each other, gasping gripping need ruling them as they collapsed against the wall hard. It seemed that was becoming habit for them. If they lost all control this easily, from just a kiss, Naomi shuddered to think what would happen if they went further, though not at all in a bad way. Icheb's hands fell over her waist, sliding down over her hips as he stroked his tongue along hers urgently.

Then Icheb suddenly slid his hands behind her, over her ass as he lifted her up. He pressed her against the bulkhead, wrapping her legs around him, and the memory of Naomi's first intense dream of Icheb resurfaced, the similarities almost painful and unbelievably arousing. The feel of his hand sliding into her shirt, making its way up slowly was enough to make Naomi realize they really could be in a lot of trouble if she let this continue much longer. She could already feel herself responding to his touch, to his intoxicating presence.

"The... meeting..." Naomi panted, doing her best to push out her words from her rapidly fleeting senses. Now that she knew what he was capable of, and the fact that she had basically given him the all clear to be as seductive as he wanted... there was no stopping him.

And Icheb didn't stop, his hand finding its target expertly and squeezing her gently. "They can wait a few more minutes," he argued distractedly, leaning in to devour her lips again as she pushed into his touch instinctively, losing her fight with her focus.

Icheb slid his other hand along her pant-clad legs, nudging them a little wider suggestively, making her moan into the kiss, shivering as he rubbed his thumb over one of her hard nipples through her bra. Naomi grasped at him tightly, writhing once again as his hand slipped past her hips again and behind her, gripping her ass firmly and forcing her hips to lock with his. Icheb ground into her, reminding her of his stroking movements against her on the holodeck, reminding her of her darkest fantasies about him. The feeling was intense, even as Icheb did everything he could to keep himself from physically reacting to his own actions.

Icheb had only one goal in mind, fix what he had started with her on the holodeck with the allotted time they had, make it up to her losing her release. With his body firmly pressing her against the wall, he used the hand that had held her up to slip between her legs, opening her pants enough to slide it over her warmth. The feel of her heat against him, the sound of her straining against him, her heart thrashing against her rib cage, it was driving him crazy and he didn't know how long he could keep his functions locked down, how long he could keep his focus.

"Icheb..." Naomi tried again, but could then only get heady sounds of approval out of her mouth, as his hand on her gripped her a little tighter, pulling her firmly against him while his other rubbed her until she was writhing in his hold. Naomi bowed back as he began to purposefully grit his hips into hers rhythmically, in time with his flicking fingers, doing everything he could to make her come as quickly as their time let them... while at the same time rapidly losing himself by doing so.

To Naomi's dismay, it was working, making her throb achingly in unavoidable pleasure. His fingers slipped under her panties again, making him moan at how slick with need she already was. Naomi trembled against him in a now familiar manner, the winding sensation of increasing ecstasy from his exploration into her aching core making her head spin. She felt herself arch against him again, pushing her body harder into him as a result. Her head hit the back of the wall, lips parted, only quick, gasping breaths leaving her as her vision clouded over with lust. Icheb then increased his attack, slipping two fingers into her while his body continued to push into her, bouncing her over the bulkhead, simulating thrusting motions. Naomi could feel her body already beginning to rapidly lock up. Oh God, she couldn't stop him, he was going to make her scream, fall to pieces in that turbolift and she... couldn't stop... desperately didn't _want_ to stop him.

Icheb was not having an easy time of it either. He panted harshly, grunting with effort as he rode her body into the wall, trying to keep his mind from imagining himself thrusting into her.

Every pull of her hips into his, ever arching push of his body made Naomi's pulse quicken, slick with need, and body quiver in aching sexual frustration. When did he get so good at this? Why couldn't she stop him? Why did she want to stop him? Wait... no, the meeting! No, no please... she couldn't... "Icheb..." Naomi gasped, trying to get past their unquenchable lust, but her flesh screamed at her, the hunger she felt for him overwhelming, not allowing her to focus on her words. His fingers twisted lightly at her clit making her screech in his ear. No no no, she was... she was so close...

No, but she couldn't let him do this, not now! Naomi knew well what his intensions were, but she couldn't! If she let him... and here... before their meeting? How was she going to be able to concentrate if all she'd be able to think about is how intensely he made her orgasm in the turbolift? Dream? What dream? This was so much worse. Naomi wanted this so _badly_ , but they couldn't! No, they were going to be late and she couldn't focus! If they managed to 'fix' the turbolift while they were.. no, she wanted to so desperately but no! Naomi forced her body to resist, ignore the arousing sounds of his efforts to make her come against him, the sound of his restrained moaning, doing everything he could to not explode on her. She needed to get a grip, needed to reach him, needed to make him stop before it was too late. Grabbing his arm and squeezing it as tightly as she could, Naomi focused all her efforts into making him listen.

" _Icheb_! _Stop_!" She all but yelled in his ear, snapping him back to his senses. "Please..." she panted, her body hating her for this.

Icheb immediately stilled, chest puffing, cheeks flushed, pupils dilated. He gave her a wide-eyed look of intense alarm, what was he thinking? Was he _trying_ to ruin their chances in Starfleet? He had been so forceful, so determined, he hadn't stopped to consider how she felt about it. A look of regret so profound crossed his eyes that it made Naomi relax, knowing he had not meant to be as aggressive as he had been.

Naomi shuddered at the feeling of his hand slipping from her. "Icheb," she began in a softer tone, still panting lightly. Her head hit the back of the lift again, irritated at having to stopping him once again. Naomi took a second to focus on pushing away the blindingly painful feeling of her pleasure ebbing away. Icheb remained silent for a moment as well, no doubt recovering from his own loss of his senses. "I really... _really_ want to let you... help me, but we _can't_ do this here, ...not now. You know that, don't you?" she asked, searching his eyes.

Icheb struggled for a few more second to regain focus, blinking rapidly and shuddering to keep his senses from completely leaving him again. "...Yes. Naomi Wildman, _please_ forgive me, I..." he trailed off, his face contorting in dismayed frustration, his tone completely remorseful. "I'm so sorry..."

Naomi knew well that he was not the type to force himself, so accepted his apology immediately. "You're going to kill me, you know that?" she groaned, staring up at the ceiling, still shivering from pent up frustration. "I... _do_ have some really good news to report though? If that will make you feel better..." she said quietly, looking back down at him. She knew what he had been trying to do, but he could have picked a better time!

Icheb's other hand slipped from under her shirt, making her sigh at once with relief and frustration. "Naomi Wildman," he began, leveling her with an unreadable look. "The only thing that will make me feel better is _us_ ," he told her firmly, serious about his convictions and need for her in a much, much deeper sense than carnally.

"I know," Naomi agreed softly, stroking his cheek. Finally she felt herself regain her composure, the unbelievable pleasure now a more or less distant, aching memory.

Icheb leaned into her touch immediately, soothed by it. "You are correct though. Again, I.. I'm very sorry," he said in a subdued voice. "I lost control. I do not know how long I can contain myself," he warned her.

"Control is irrelevant?" Naomi offered with a blushing smile. Icheb said nothing, but his eyes darkened. "You're not the only one," she admitted. "But right now, we better go before they get maintenance in here to fix the un-moving turbo-lift..." she told him, huffing in frustration. Icheb said nothing still, but nodded in agreement and reluctantly let her go. They straightened each others clothing, smiling as their attempts to smooth out their uniforms, rubbing their hands over each other only made them eager for each other again. Eyes locked, breath leaving them, Naomi pulling him by the front of his uniform and yanked him to her. Icheb responded immediately, leaning in to a harsh kiss, making them dizzy with suffocating desire.

During the meeting, they pretended that they hadn't just had an intense jaunt in the turbo-lift, pretended they were perfectly calm and weren't about to burst. Icheb held himself straight, listened to the reports the staff gave him and tried to not notice Naomi all but squirming in her seat. The problem was, if _he_ noticed, someone else probably did too. Sweeping his eyes quickly around the room, he saw Tom's lips tilted up slightly in amusement, but everyone else trying _not_ to notice. Icheb rested his eyes on Naomi for a moment, his gaze conveying a message. Naomi caught his meaning and attempted to settle down, glaring his way, _it's your fault_ her eyes told him. Icheb resisted smiling and carried on with the meeting. What Naomi had to report _was_ good, prompting the team to make a greater effort in completing the preliminary tests.

Once the reports were over and they were dismissed, everyone got up, ready to go back to their duties. Tom sauntered over to Naomi, mirth in his eyes. "Naomi, I'd be careful to cover that up if I were you..." he grinned.

"What?" Naomi frowned in confusion.

"That angry red mark on your neck," he told her.

Naomi gaped and her hand shot up to cover her neck of the imaginary mark, then glared as her old friend burst out laughing. "That's _not_ funny, Tom," she grumbled.

"It's pretty funny!" Tom disagreed, then winced when he wife pinched his rib. "Alright alright," he sighed. "Spoil all my fun." B'elanna sent Naomi an apologetic smile before pushing her husband out of the room.

Naomi paused at the door, turning back, unable to stop herself from looking back at Icheb. Icheb held her gaze and their eyes spoke of the anguish they felt for each other. "I'll... see you around, Captain," she mentioned breathlessly and left before they _took advantage_ of the empty meeting room.

After getting nowhere with each other the rest of the week, they were about to detonate.

Naomi stood in the center of her room one evening, hand dug into her hair as she stared out her window, into the vast expanse of space. She knew that getting into her bed and trying to sleep would be completely pointless; she was not going to be able to sleep tonight, no matter how much she tried. Tangling her hair was not going to help either, so she dropped her hand to her side and sat at the edge of her bed.

Since their encounter a few days ago, Naomi had known her dreams would return with a vengeance, but she hadn't realized how powerful they would have gotten, making her cry out for him in the night. She had never felt such an unbelievably intense need for anyone in her life. None of the boyfriends she had experimented with when she was a little younger ever came close to bringing out such passionate responses from her.

Not for the first time, part of her resented Icheb a little for getting her so incredibly bothered to the point of insanity. Damn him, it was his fault and she loved it and hated it at the same time. Again, how was she supposed to focus on her work like this? The past couple days had been an unabashed torture for them, as they pretended nothing was going on between them despite undressing each other with their eyes when they were certain no one was looking. If anyone noticed anything, it was the stiffness and clipped tone she had for her Captain whenever she reported to him.

Naomi knew what she needed to do, knew she had to go to him, end this torment between them. Like a physical pain that made her lose her breath, it hurt too much to stay away from him anymore. Naomi was tired of keeping away, tired of her self-imposed block, her sense of duty that kept things professional even after everything they went through. Pulling herself back to her feet, Naomi reigned in her composure and made her way out, hoping she could sneak to the Captain's quarters without too many people noticing. If they had no time to deal with how they felt during the day, they would make it work at night at least.

She held her breath, slipping through the corridors on the balls of her feet, trying to be as silent and small as she could. At a junction, a passing officer forced her to press herself against the wall, holding her breath again as he passed on through, down his hall without noticing her. Naomi breathed a sigh of relief and peaked around the corner, assessing her surroundings. Once she was confident she was good to go, she continued on. Finally she reached the turbo-lift and told it her destination. She held her breath again, hoping no one would choose to take the lift at this moment. Fortunately, it was late enough at night that only the skeleton crew was up and at their stations. Naomi managed to successfully avoid all attention and her final destination was in her sights.

Meanwhile, Icheb sat in his spot at the edge of his bed, head resting on one palm while the other gripped the edge of the bed tightly, staring at the wall hard, imagining he could see an imprint of recent events on it. Tortuous memories of the lapses in their control between him and the woman he was fiercely in love with battered his thoughts without remorse. How long could he keep his need for her at bay? How long could they keep up the charade of being nothing but close friends? His muted, neatly contained fury at the situation they were in threatened to ignite.

Since their initial meeting, even as kids, Icheb knew he would grow fond of the girl... he just hadn't realized how the fondness would grow into out of control love for her. Their reunion ten years later was the spark that lit their slow burning smolder, growing more and more overpowering with each week that passed. Now he didn't go a day without being haunted by his longing for her, without his dreams flooding him with his deepest fantasies. He had known she would be the end of him the very first day of their reunion, had known it would be impossible to stay away from her. It wasn't even simply a sexual drive toward her, it was something far deeper, an endless ravenous need to have her in his life, always. Icheb wondered if Naomi felt the same, would be receptive if he asked her one day to remain by his side?

When he heard the door chime, he jerked in surprise. Unless there was a problem with the ship or the crew, who would be at his door at this time in the evening? Icheb stood and walked over to his door, when he opened it though, he was irrationally pleased to see Naomi standing there. "Naomi, what are y-" Icheb was cut off as Naomi roughly pushed at his chest until his door slid shut behind him. He blinked in surprise when she grabbed him by his uniform, slid her hand behind his head and yanked him down harshly, kissing him with an urgency that stirred the burning for her within him. She cupped his cheeks, tilting her head slightly to reach him better, wrapping an arm around his neck. Icheb took no time to completely surrender to her assault on his lips, opening her mouth with his to deepen the kiss. Their excruciating greed for each other was liquid magma that spread uncontrollably through their very veins.

Icheb was so focused on her enrapturing mouth that he hadn't noticed them moving, not until he felt his calves press against his bed. Unable to stabilize himself, Icheb's legs gave away at the force of her direction, but Naomi didn't give him a chance to adjust to the change. His mouth hung open in surprise as she pushed him down onto the bed until he was sitting on the edge, but she didn't stop there, straddling him assertively. "What..." he trailed off, seeing the intensity in her gaze, completely surprised and utterly aroused by her aggressive attitude.

Naomi held herself still for a moment, searching his eyes while her fingers stroked the line of his jaw reverently. "I'm in love with you, Icheb," she said suddenly and firmly. "I have been for a long time," she admitted. "Do you realize how much you drive me insane? You've _completely_ destroyed _all_ of my focus, you know that? I can't go a day without getting scolded, imaging you having your way with me," she told him gently, still caressing his face.

Naomi shook her head, a little smile playing on her lips. "I tried so hard to resist you, did everything I could to focus on my studies, on my work, but you tore all of my defenses away and made me become completely addicted to you." Icheb said nothing, too overcome with emotion and shock, realizing then she was not stuttering, not blushing, and not holding anything back. She was completely focused, completely sure of herself and of what she wanted. Was he dreaming? "I love you," she said again. "Let me show you?" she asked then, mimicking what he had asked in her dream some time ago. Her hand ran through his hair at the nape of his neck tenderly as she searched his eyes again.

Icheb's heart flourished, full with the intensity of the raging emotions she had inspired deep within him. She was in love with him, she had said it! He had been waiting so long to hear her say it. Everything he had ever felt for her in return screamed to rush out all at once. "Naomi, I..." he blanked, unable properly form the words his soul cried out to tell her, but before he could say any more, she pulled him in for another hard kiss, taking advantage of his surprise to deepen it again. As it had always been between them, Icheb's eyes told Naomi everything she needed to know.

Icheb jolted from the kiss in shock when she slid back a little and he felt her hand on him. Naomi smiled softly at him and pulled at his fastener, freeing him after a few minutes of struggle. "I probably shouldn't spoil you like this, especially since you brutally tortured me the other day... but I want to do this for you," she said gently, reaching for him deliberately. She leaned forward into him, returning the gesture, kissing his neck, fulfilling a fantasy and dragging her tongue over the now slight bulge of his throat, at the same time encircling his rigid need. Naomi nearly moaned, he was so hot and so hard, the need to feel him inside her was intense, but she needed to do this first.

Icheb shuddered as her hand wrapped around his length, gasping when she began to return the favor he had attempted days ago, sliding her closed fist up and down him, torturing him just as he had tortured her. He strained, his body jerking, forcing up off the bed instinctively at the purposeful pumps. Pleasure voluted his senses, tightening within him as she leaned in, whispering things to him that made even _him_ blush. Her gentle grip narrowed over him, tightening, dragging out his ragged moans.

"Naomi!" Icheb groaned, unable to stop himself from pushing up into her hand, gripping the edge of the bed furiously. Naomi felt herself respond to the electrifying feel of him, to the harsh sounds of his rasping pleasure. The half Ktarian squirmed over him, blushing deeply, and feeling her body respond to his pleasure, aching deeply, her mouth parted open slightly at the enthralling sight of him rapidly coming undone before her.

To distract himself, keep his wanton lust at bay for a little longer, Icheb's arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer, drowning himself in the teeth clashing, tongue sucking asphyxiating kiss. Deliberate, hard strokes were quickly tearing him asunder. Icheb wasn't sure how long he could last, he could feel himself burning, her continuous efforts swiftly making him reach his end. "Wait-" he broke from the kiss in a strangled gasp, trembling with the intensity of his restraint as he delicately pulled her hand away from him. "I want... my first completion tonight to be with you," he said breathlessly, shaking with desire.

Naomi felt her heart fluttered, heated skin flushing at his meaning. How could he make something sound so logical, factual, and completely erotic at the same time? She said nothing, unable to get her voice to work and merely nodded in agreement. Icheb had expected Naomi to lay with him, but was caught off guard when she slipped off him only long enough to strip in front of him. He watched, transfixed as she made a show of it and pulled her uniform shirt off slowly, followed by shimming out of her pants and sliding her underwear off. Icheb felt his lips part and almost came then and there. Naomi blushed at the concentrated look of lust in his eyes before walking back over to him and kneeling before his still seated form. Naomi smiled then, her blush now obvious on his fair cheeks as she gripped his slacks and pulled them off of him, followed by his briefs.

Once he was properly displayed before her, Naomi slid over his legs once more, resting her hands over his shoulders. The rest of their clothes could wait for the moment, this was more important. Naomi then leaned in and slid her tongue into his receptive mouth. She used her leverage over his body and lifted herself up, pressing her chest against his as she wrapped her arms over his neck. They pulled away from the kiss and Icheb watched, mesmerized as she angled herself, the next thing he knew, his vision blurred from lust. Icheb quailed, the abrupt cry of heady pleasure escaping him at their union before he could temper it.

The profoundly exquisite, sensuous pressure washed over Naomi like a wave of pulsing rage, forcing her to shudder deeply as her head rolled to the side, overcome by the sudden sensation of finally sinking down onto him, making her sigh with deep satisfaction. Their hands reached for each other, hers clenching his uniform tightly, his sliding over her bare legs, gripping her ass tightly and pulling her harder into him, riding the screaming expulsion of their ecstasy. They remained still for a moment, letting the shock pass. How long had they yearned for this? How long had they craved each other with overpowering ferocity?

Icheb held her close and used the grip he hand on her bare behind to then lift her light figure up nearly completely off him before slamming her right back down with a purpose. Naomi sucked in a sharp intake of breath at the suddenness of the movement, the strength of his ardor, but helped him do it again, and again, their hash breaths escaping them with each jarring crush of their heated bodies, urgent for more and not able to get enough.. Naomi let her head tilt back to give him better reach as he kissed her hungrily, his tongue dipping over the lines of her neck as he push up as she bore back down on him hard.

Icheb hastily moved to all but rip Naomi's bra off of her, exposing her to him in an instant. Icheb moaned in pleasure and set to trail his eager mouth down her quivering body. Naomi arched back, her lips parting in a soundless cry of burning worship as his mouth found her hardened peaks, lapping at them, rubbing his bottom lip across them. She gripped him tightly, pressing his mouth against her harder as he once again ruthlessly milked her weakness for his tongue.

Icheb lifted her almost completely off him then, held her body slightly up above him, allowing him to give each of her feminine swells the attention they deserved. She was so light, this was almost too easy and he could magnify her pleasure all the more this way. Icheb wanted to hear her make those pleasing sounds, wanted to hear her fall apart in his embrace and smiled when his efforts proved effective. Naomi managed a second of coherency to roll her eyes inwardly at the mewling whimper that escaped her. She tried to tug at him, force herself back down onto him, needed him inside her, burned for him, but he held her still. "Easy," he mumbled against her flesh.

Naomi held in a swear, knowing he was once again doing all he could to make her implode. " _Icheb_ ," she hissed eagerly, clenching his locks at the back of his head as he took his time to taste his bounty. Icheb paid her no mind, sliding his tongue over her, biting gently, his mouth murder on her sensitive buds, leaving her helplessly enslaved to the impetuous pleasure, trapped in his secured hold on her. Struggling only made the sweltering heat swirling within her worse, the feeling of his erection suggestively pressing ever so slightly into her as he worked was enough to drive her completely mad with salacity. "Icheb!" she cried out as her body betrayed her, making her shudder as a tiny, unresolving, dissatisfying orgasm rippled mercilessly through her. "Please," she huffed, blushing at how desperate she sounded. He was _entirely_ too good at teasing her into insanity. She yanked at him harder, scowling at him impatiently.

Icheb looked up from his current spot on her breast and smiled against her. "And you call _me_ stubborn," he mumbled softly, but gave in to her demands, all but dropping her back down onto him. They cried out, spines tingling at the abrupt rejoining. Icheb wrapped his arms around her, kissing her languidly as they resumed the devouring fire, straining against the confines of their position on the edge of the bed. But then, when Naomi took the initiative again, pushing him onto his back over the bed, Icheb nearly fell to pieces right there. He held her hips, trying desperately to keep his eyes focused on her as she rose and fell over his body.

Icheb remained as still as he could, letting her grind into him, making him lose his breath and his mind at the quick, precise zeal of her efforts. Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of fire, her face vibrant red, only exasperated by her hair, twisted in sensual concentration as pleasure raked through her body. It was the most spectacularly beautiful sight he had ever seen. He could see her very rapidly reaching her finish and knew she deserved it, but if she thought he was going to just lay there, let her find release that quickly so soon, she was about to be disappointed.

Lifting himself back up, Icheb craned himself nearly off the bed until he was lifting her completely. While still holding her firmly against their fused hips, he turned them both around and laid her as gently over the bed as his raging need let him. Icheb then leaned back slightly, struggling to remove the rest of his uniform, irritated by them getting in the way. Naomi's breath escaped her as he stripped over her, all but tearing his clothing off of him urgently and exposing his gorgeous body to her, but she had no time to admire him as he went right back over her, using the new position with her heels planted over the bed and hands on either side of her to rock into her firmly. Naomi gasped at the fervor, could feel his athletic figure rippling underneath her fingertips as she rose nearly off the bed instinctively, twisting in searing heat as his hands slid over her legs again, wrapping them around his hips, allowing him easier access.

When he leaned in further, laying hot trails over her rising chest to her jaw, the force of his drive made Naomi feel him deep in her belly. Their bodies moved frantically, the absolute absence of control not allowing any sort of proper rhythm to guide them. The uncontrolled magnitude of their lovemaking tore them to shreds, exposing their profoundly woven and repressed desires from them brutally. Months of agonizing for one another, the incrementing desire to be with each other consummated to this point, making them burst with their suppressed need to be together.

Naomi arched back with a strangled gasp, her fingers tightening on Icheb's bare back as she felt him swell, felt her him rapidly approaching his end. Naomi reared up, the sensual feeling of him hot and about to explode enough to make her lose her mind. Icheb cried out then, his entire body stiffening over hers as his raging completion threw him over the edge, making him drive her into the bed harder as a result. Naomi didn't stop to think of the consequences of letting him release inside her, gasping as she was sent lurching from the shock. Icheb's grinding hips slowed as he rode his aftershock and then stilled, his breath completely ragged as he lay against her. Icheb groaned mournfully, he had _not_ expect that to happen so quickly, he had intended them to _both_ feel release. Now he felt like a hypocrite, but he resolved to make it up to her. "I'm sorry, I..."

"It's okay," Naomi assured him, hugging him close. When he began to calm, Naomi kissed him gently, stroking his face, but was still painfully filled with her own neglected desire as he pulled from her. The familiar deep ache pulsed angrily, reminding her of the many times she had strained with her need for him but was left unfulfilled. She gripped him tightly, tilting his head to make him look into her eyes as she trembled beneath his breathtaking body. "Icheb, help me," she asked him simply.

Icheb kissed her gently before pulling away slightly. He would do everything in his power to give her the same relief he felt. He lifted himself up, just enough to reach her better. His hands pressed on her legs, pulling them around his hips again as he settled above her. Naomi watched with bated breath as one of his hands slid over her inner thigh slowly. Feeling his familiar touch on her aching arousal forced her to arch up from the bed again.

Icheb slid his fingers over her then, her slickness making it easy for him to rub her into a frenzied mess. Naomi twisted against the sheets, but he held her still, slipping in a finger to milk her pleasure from her raw throat. Naomi stiffened, weeping in pleasure as she succumbed to his relentless ministrations on her burning flesh. With her legs still wrapped around him, Icheb used the easy access to mercilessly draw out her moans, one hand working her while the other skated over her body, caressing her lovingly.

Naomi's face contorted in pleasurable agony again, though her eyes remained locked with his. Icheb smiled tenderly, finding her devastatingly beautiful. He leaned in, his mouth dragging, teeth sensually grazing across her throat, sucking on her pulse point as his touch inspired her to writhe beneath him. While his other hand slid over her leg, pulling her hips into his hand with each desolating stroke, he spoke gently in her ear. "I love you, Naomi," he murmured, his tone low and breathless as he let his soul echo in his words, his eyes shining with meaning.

The emotionally-charged confession, combined with Icheb's single-mindedly murderous efforts to make her come undone, utterly unraveled Naomi at the seams, tearing a muted, cacophonous sob deep from her throat, leaving her quaking brutally against him as she completely crumbled under his touch. Icheb continued to gently stroke her attentively until she finally relaxed against him. He then pulled his hand away and leaned in to her again, kissing her thoroughly.

When the fog of intensity cleared, unimaginable relief flooded them. Icheb smiled when Naomi pulled from the kiss only to nudge at him until she could roll over-top of him, straddling him once again. She looked down into his expressively beautiful eyes for a moment, caressing him, gently running her finger down his ocular implant adoringly. Icheb watched her, holding her hips where she straddled him. Naomi leaned down then, kissing him slowly, pouring her profoundly riveting love for him into it. When she pulled away, the look she gave him was almost unreadable.

"Naomi?" Icheb questioned curiously, reaching up to tenderly run his fingers through her wild, beautiful red hair.

"Icheb..." she began quietly, eyes boring into his, her hand still slowly caressing the contours of his face. "Ask me to stay."

Icheb gazed up at her ardently and smiled devotedly, hearing the double meaning. He rolled them back over and settled himself between her legs again, sliding his hands over her. He leaned in and whispered softly in her ear. "Stay."

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** The turbo-lift scene was influenced by the song "Touch The Night" by Lori Yates and the love scene was inspired by the song "Skin of the Night" by M83.

Shout Out

 **tinmiss1939:** Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Naomi Wildman woke with a start very early the next morning.

The half Ktarian frowned for a second, glancing around, not recognizing where she lay, but the feeling of someone holding her and the memory of her previous night rushing back eased her and she relaxed. Part of Naomi was unbelievably content, and the other made her heart soar with the realization that she was finally with Icheb in a capacity that she had been yearning for, for entirely too long. Why had she resisted him for so long? Many times that night, Icheb was completely attentive to her, keyed in to her needs in a way she didn't know was even possible. It wasn't to say he was the one doing all the work though, she had equally sought to pay him back thoroughly.

As though their minds were linked in a collective, they seemed to know intimately how to make the other writhe and cry out in pleasure. Naomi shivered at the intense memories. If she had known it would have been a knee-buckling, awe-inspiring, glaringly electrifying experience to be with him, she might not have fought him so hard. She wasn't even just meaning the sex either. They connected in a profoundly deeper level that went far beyond just that, but it was only exponentially heightened by it.

Naomi closed her eyes again, reaching out her senses. She could feel Icheb all around her, his heat surrounding her like a miasma, nearly lulling her back to sleep. He lay behind her, spooned up to her. One of his arms was tucked beneath her neck, providing a nice support, while the other was draped across her waist. One of his legs was bent, slightly pressing over hers. His whole body language screamed possession and Naomi had to bite her lip to keep from grinning like a fool, but failed spectacularly.

"What's so funny?"

Naomi jumped slightly at the sudden, low rumbling voice near her ear. She craned her head back to look at him and saw that he was wide awake, gazing at her intently. He had a pleasing shadow over his cheeks and his eyes were warm and inviting. "You," she said simply, smiling at him adoringly. The sight of his exposed, powerful body behind her stirred her body alive again quicker than she had ever thought possible.

Icheb's eyebrow popped up questioningly at her response. "Me?" He didn't move from his comfortable spot, his body wrapping around his love's, shrouding her in his protective embrace. "Why am I funny?" he asked curiously.

Naomi flushed. "...How long have you been awake?" she asked instead of responding, avoiding the question. No need letting him know how much she liked the idea of Icheb _possessing_ her, he'd be impossible to deal with if he knew. Of course, she was intimately aware of his persistence, and knew if he wanted to get information out of her, he would find a way... and now that he had intimacy at his disposal, it would be that much more impossible to resist him. It was only a matter of time and _persuasion._

Icheb narrowed his eyes slightly and Naomi felt her heart kick up, knowing he had sighted her deflection. "For a little bit," he responded anyway. "I was dozing, but you started to wake up, so I waited for you," he answered simply. "Now," Icheb pulled her close, sliding his hand over her bare belly suggestively, trailing down. Naomi sighed inwardly, knowing he wouldn't let it drop. " _Why_ am I _funny_?" he demanded again softly, his lips playing patterns over her shoulder, trailing a line to her exposed neck. "Clarify," he ordered, his hand reaching further down.

Naomi's treacherous body betrayed her, reveling in his deliberate strokes. "Y-You're... possessive..." Naomi gasped, unable to stop herself from yielding to his insistence as his touch coerced her to tell him. "Not so much funny as... arousing," she admitted, rolling her eyes at the little smirk that graced his attractive mouth. Icheb's hand stilled it its journey between her legs, but continued to gently massage her thighs. Naomi shuddered, trying not to let him get to her. To distract herself, Naomi turned away from him and decided to stretch, trying to get her blood flowing to _other_ parts of her body for a change. The movement, however, was not lost on her partner, who suddenly gripped her hips tightly.

"Naomi..." Icheb murmured in warning.

"Yes?" the half Ktarian replied.

"Don't do that..." he scolded weakly, his hold around her tightening when she squirmed again, pressing her tighter against him.

Naomi's brow lifted but then she realized how closely she was pressed against him and smiled to herself, figuring this could make a nice payback for torturing her earlier. "What? This?" Naomi moved into him again, grinding herself against him hard. She grinned in triumph at the _effects_ it had on him, spurring him to life. She squeaked embarrassingly when Icheb abruptly pulled her and rolled over her, trapping her beneath him.

"Yes, that," he growled playfully. "Not unless you want to retain the ability to function properly."

Naomi reached up and stroked the lines of his face, smiling at the light prickling of morning scruff on his normally clean-shaved face, finding it gave him a roguish appearance. "Is that a challenge?" she asked with a slow grin, sliding her legs up his until she was able to wrap them around his middle and pull him to her. Icheb did not resist her intention and fell against her, wrapping his arms around her while he sought her lips. Their hands did not remain still as their mouths consumed every bit of oxygen and sense they had left. They took their time, exploring their bodies, hands moving over curves, over swells, arches, and dips.

When they pulled away, it was then in the clarity of the morning after that Noami was able to appropriately admire him, exploring him with her hand, grateful that Icheb held still this time as he hovered over her. Icheb had doubled, maybe even tripled in size since his adolescence, and not just his height. His body had filled out with the rigors of Starfleet training. His forearm alone was much thicker than her hand could circle around.

Sliding her hand over his arm, his shoulder, and down his chest, she dragged her fingernails, smiling when he shivered at her touch. He had a very fine, light scatter of hair on his unreasonably refined chest, mostly at the center. Usually she didn't like hairy men, but the lightness of it on him worked very well for him. While she had previously determined he was not overly muscled, he nevertheless had a breathtaking figure. Naomi would say he had the body of a runner, but he seemed bigger than that, maybe a soldier, conditioned for tactical situations.

There were a few implants in a few key places that she could see, such as a very small oblong disk like slight protuberance over his sternum, no doubt controlling his reinforced cardio pulmonary systems. When she reached around him, feeling his strong back, she could feel what felt like metal beneath the skin along his spine. Aside from a few other small places, he was perfectly clean of Borg tech and practically screamed masculinity. Naomi finished by trailing her fingers back up along his muscled shoulder, running them through his short, messy hair.

"Have you finished your assessment of me?" Icheb asked softly, leaning in to her touch.

"Maybe," she replied just as softly, a blush peeking on her cheeks.

"What is your conclusion? Am I acceptable?"

"More than acceptable," she smiled. " _Addictive_ ," she admitted, leaning up to him again and taking his bottom lip between her teeth gently.

"Addictive, am I?" Icheb murmured against the kiss, leaning in to rub his body into hers in a sweeping motion, making her hiss with pleasure as he wrapped her legs more securely around him, once again locking her in place. Icheb placed both hands on either side of her and rocked forward solidly, instantly connecting them.

" _Yes_ ," Naomi bit out her double-meaning response, her head falling back from the sensation. Naomi's heels pressed against the bed, her head rolling back as he surged into her, rolling her body into the sheets with almost as much fervency as the night before. Their breaths left them as Icheb began to push forward harder, one hand still keeping himself upright over her, while the other slid over to trail along her leg with his repeated pistoning motions.

Naomi soared up off the bed, her efforts to keep up with him bringing her to crying, blinding explosive completion, though it did _nothing_ to stop him as he carried off undaunted by her tightening completion. Their eyes never left each other as they lost themselves in their renewed passion, though at a much reduced frenzy from the previous night, having almost reached a point where they could finally think a little more clearly.

A little later, as they lay there, their fire having dimmed down enough for them to relax momentarily, Naomi found herself draped over him contently, but her earlier worry from the previous night crossed her mind again, making her stiffen against him. They hadn't been careful, hadn't stopped to consider the consequences of their _many_ actions. "Icheb?" she began, her voice slightly small.

Icheb heard the concern in her tone and focused on her. "What is it, Naomi?" he asked, reaching to caress her, try to soothe whatever was wrong as his fingers tangled in her hair.

"What if I... what if..." Naomi took a calming breath. "We didn't use _protection_ ," she explained, hoping he understood.

"I... don't believe it will be possible for you to conceive from me," Icheb told her apologetically and slightly crestfallen.

Naomi frowned, suddenly bothered by the idea. "Why do you say that?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him.

"Our genes are too different," he informed her carefully. "It is difficult enough for two different species to conceive someone such as you for example. You're half human, half Ktarian, and I'm Brunali with a genetic alteration. That are too many factors contending with each other."

"I see..." Naomi murmured, resting her cheek back against his warm chest. While she was _not_ prepared to have a child right now, the idea of having her own family in the future had always brought a smile to her face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, craning his head to kiss her cheek tenderly.

"No it's... it's okay," she shook her head. "I don't need a baby to be happy," she smiled reassuringly, shifting slightly so she was facing him, reaching up to stroke his jaw affectionately.

"You say that now..." he mentioned regretfully. One of his hands held her hip steadily, while the other ran through her hair, not getting enough of her silky tresses.

"All I need is you," she said in a factual tone, shrugging simply. It wasn't meant to be a cheesy line, or to make him feel better, it was simply the truth. Icheb remained silent, completely trusting her word but feeling like in the future that might change. Maybe he could figure something out? He _was_ pretty good with genetics, after all. That is, if she chose to stay with him. "...So there's nothing to worry about?" she asked then, a little playful smile lifting her lips.

" _Highly_ improbable," Icheb assured her. Naomi grinned and reached for him, figuring if there was nothing to worry about, they might as well make the most of it. Icheb could hear the dulled tone in her voice and knew she wasn't completely okay with it. He would soothe the heart ache she was no doubt trying to hide, he would make her forget... at least, for the moment. He rolled them over abruptly and settled himself over her again, gazing down at her intently. He decided he would do something to both fix that, and repair the damages he had done before to her, the moments in the holodeck, and then the time in the turbo-lift.

Naomi lifted a brow at the sudden change in position but flushed at the decisive look in his eyes, knowing he had something planned. Her own eyes widened a little when Icheb leaned back slightly, trailing his hands down the lengths of her soft legs, only to hoisted them up over his shoulders, on either end. "Naomi, could you move in a little closer to me?" he asked, his hands rubbing her calves lightly. Naomi hesitated for a second before crawling into him more. He smiled reassuringly at her as he helped slide her over to him a little more before lifting her up easily, giving him complete access to her.

Naomi felt her heart begin to race. "Icheb?" she questioned with a tremble in her voice, overcome with astonishment at what she now knew he was intending on doing. She once again was overwhelmed with curiosity at how much _experience_ he had gotten during his time in the Alpha Quadrant. Her eyes flicked down to the familiar little smirk playing on his sensual mouth and shivered with longing.

Icheb leaned in a little and very slowly kissed one of her calves, making a show of it while his eyes locked with hers, one hand running up and down the length of the other leg, as though to calm and entice her at the same time, while the other held her steady. "I wish to rectify the mistakes I made to you days earlier, the lost moments you had," he explained as he lifted her up a little more.

Naomi knew what he was saying and quivered slightly. "I'm... pretty sure you already did?" Their night had been anything but tame, so she had figured he had made up for it... apparently he thought differently. "Besides... the last time you said that..." Naomi trailed off watching in mute anticipating fascination as he laid a trail of hot open-mouthed kisses down her leg to her inner thigh.

Yes, Icheb knew, the last time he said something similar she had been at the edge of her pleasure and he had been forced to stop before she could go over it. Not this time. "It will _not_ happen again," he said between slow kisses. "This time you _will_ feel it," he promised, his eyes full of determination.

Naomi shivered, already aching painfully for him. "You don't have to... do this..." she said softly, her eyes glued to the purposeful trail of his lips.

"I want to," he smiled against her and pulled her closer.

"Ich-" with one final tug of her body to him, one purposeful movement, he effectively silenced her protest instantly.

Naomi felt her body ignite with furious burning, feeling his hot mouth on her. She threw her head back, contorting in anguishing pleasure, though no sound was able to escape her parted lips, too overloaded with sensation to react normally. If she thought that moment on the holodeck was surprising, this was something on a whole new level. Her legs shook from the intensity against his wide shoulders, but she did her best to resist choking him with them. She clenched the sheets beneath her so tightly she heard her knuckles crack. Icheb held her still, not allowing her to help him or herself either way, while working her into a frenzy, taking his time with agonizingly deliberate strokes of his tongue. Naomi clenched her teeth, tried to hang on, but he found her clit and she could not stop from the unbidden, unadulterated cry of rapture from ripping out of her, her body locking up quickly.

Naomi thought that was it, but she was _so_ wrong. Icheb continued his assault on her aching core, unfazed by her first climax. She had known Icheb was _very_ good at doing things as efficiently as possible, but what he was doing to her now bordered on sadism. Icheb used the hand he hadn't been holding her up with to aid him, filling her just enough to add that extra bit of unyielding pressure, finding himself moaning in desire at how slick and warm she was, but he wasn't done yet. When he found just the right spot again, he pushed in a little closer and hummed low against her, using his already deep voice to his advantage. Naomi, panting with the effort to not alert the ship, was again overcome, the weeping cry of pleasure making her throat hoarse. Still he persisted, and she could feel him smiling against her.

"Icheb... please, I... I don't think I..." Naomi's body shook, the successive orgasms making her lightheaded and wanton beneath him. She didn't know how much more she could take, how many more times in a row she could burst apart underneath him, but Icheb was anything if not determined.

"You will," he said firmly. "I am not finished repairing my mistakes. You _will_ orgasm again a third time," Icheb promised her, now using his mouth and fingers to wreck her. Icheb had tormented her three times, in his room, on the holodeck, and in a turbo-lift, so his mission was to make her come three times successively. And his persistence usually got him what he wanted.

Icheb's resolute promise, telling her that she would come again in that firm, factual tone of his, nearly did her in right then and there. "I... Ich..." Naomi's mind fogged over with carnal hunger, sheets twisted up around her as she struggled, her head swimming as he increased the eagerness of his undertaking. She had expected Icheb to be thorough, but then he began to _suck_ on her aching clit, plunging a second finger into her at the same time, twisting in with each incessant pump, forcing her shaking legs to stay apart.

Icheb finally forced her body to obey his demands, just as he said he would. Naomi arched nearly completely off the bed, only the back of her head touching the pillow as a guttural howl tore brutally from her strained throat. The sensation of savagely, hotly locking up blinded her, ending her then and there with a resounding crescendo. Icheb held still for a moment, waiting patiently for her to ride the wave of her pleasure to the end. He rubbed her legs soothingly, feeling her whole body shake from the effect.

Once Naomi had gone limp in his arms, eyes still clouded over slightly, he leaned over and gently set her back down. Icheb then knelt back on his haunches, wiping his mouth with his arm slowly and smiled softly down at her. "Am I forgiven?" he asked tenderly.

"... _Yes_..." Naomi breathed, still staring at the ceiling in shock. She would _never again_ doubt Icheb's sexual prowess. Icheb's eyes softened and he slid back down over her body to caress her cheek, waiting for her to get back to her senses. When she looked back into his eyes, he leaned in and captured her mouth, hoping she didn't recoil. Naomi was too far gone to care about inconsequential effects from his effort on her, too addicted to his mouth to care one way or another. Her need for him shuddered back to life when she felt him press against her again, wondering idly if he had an _off_ switch... not that she'd _ever_ consider it, but he seemed a lot quicker to recover than most males. "Icheb..." she began, pushing on his chest slightly, her curiosity getting the better of her. "How are you so... ready so quickly?" she asked with a flush.

"Tech," he said simply, shrugging. "Don't ask me why or how, I would honestly prefer not knowing the details," Icheb shuddered unpleasantly, trying not to wonder at what the Queen did with her drones. "Suffice it to say, I have more control over my functions, than normal males." His _control_ had saved him from embarrassing situations more times than he cared to admit, including the many times he was with or dreamed of Naomi after their reunion.

"That's... unbelievably convenient," Naomi muttered, still blushing deeply.

"Yes. Besides, I believe I had an appropriate amount of time to become aroused again while giving you pleasure," he explained simply, once again stating it in a factual, irritatingly unintentionally sexy way. Naomi wasn't quite sure how much more of this she could take, already feeling the strain within her, but was hopelessly unable to refuse him, willingly taking him back into her arms again. No matter how many times he gratified her, she felt like she had an endless appetite for him.

Some time later, when Naomi realized she was going to be late, she nearly passed out in her attempts to rush up off the bed and into the bathroom to get ready. The sudden rash movement, especially considering all the explosively strenuous physical activity she had recently undergone, made her legs buckle and forced her body to collapse to the ground. "Naomi! Are you alright?" Icheb shot up from the bed, irritatingly not effected. "Are you damaged?" he asked in concern, kneeling next to her.

Naomi would have smiled fondly at his familiar terminology, if she hadn't felt terrible at that very second. She did everything she could to keep the blood from rushing to her face, completely humiliated at her little introduction to Icheb's floor. Was she damaged? That was a loaded question. "I'm fine, Icheb," she muttered, doing her best not to ogle his naked form next to her as she gently got to her feet with his help. Icheb reached over and took her elbow, steadying her. Naomi winced in pain when she tried to make her way again and rolled her eyes inwardly. Leave it to Icheb to make her feel virgin all over again. His chest and arms were not the only part of him that raged masculinity. "I'll be fine now, I promise," she told him, looking him over and smiling appreciatively at him before snatching up her clothes and disappearing into his bathroom.

By the time Naomi had finished getting ready, Icheb was already dressed, no doubt waiting his turn, and drinking coffee. "I prepared some for you as well," he said simply, motioning to the cup next to him.

"I really wish I could join you, but I'm already late," she grimaced, making her way to his door, but hesitated, wondering how she could possibly explain leaving her Captain's quarters in the morning like this, especially considering the slight limp in her step. Naomi snorted inwardly, she thought he was kidding about his warning of removing her 'ability to function properly' earlier.

Icheb stood and walked toward her, making her have to step back at his quick approach. Her back hit his wall next to his door lightly and he smiled reassuringly. Bending over, his lips grazed her ear teasingly as he strained his hearing. "I am checking to make sure the 'coast' is clear," he explained in a low tone by her ear, his hands already pressing against her hips, sliding along them. Clearly he couldn't get enough either.

"Sure you are," Naomi mumbled dryly, her eyes shutting at the intoxicating heat of his body surrounding her. Her own body, as usual, betrayed her. She couldn't let him rope her into his insatiable desires again though! Not now! She was going to be _so_ late!

Icheb drew back a little and smiled softly at her. "There isn't anyone in this or the adjacent corridors for the moment," he told her. His eyes bore into hers for a second before he starting leaning into her again, however, Naomi ducked under his arms and spun out of his reach.

"If I let you kiss me again, I'll _never_ leave," Naomi mentioned, backing away from him. "See you later, Captain," she grinned at his impatient expression and essentially escaped his quarters. Despite trusting in Icheb's very attuned senses, Naomi still held her breath as she made her way to the turbo-lift quickly. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was clear and made her way to Astrometrics. She was forced to apologize a few times as she skirted around people in her way but finally made it there.

As she ran in, her supervisor leveled her with a stern look. "Cadet Wildman," Lieutenant Jeremiah chided as Naomi rushed into the lab over fifteen minutes late. "You're late!" he said, his voice holding a tone of surprise. Naomi was _never_ later, she was usually there even before he was.

"I'm so sorry! I got caught up with... something. It won't happen again, I promise," Naomi explained lamely, trying her best not to blush. Even if she had been awake for over three hours, she still managed to get so caught up with Icheb that she was unreasonably late! Damn him. Well okay, it was _definitely_ her fault too.

"Naomi," he sighed, shaking his head. Naomi tried not to roll her eyes at how dramatic her boss was being. Honestly, one time she was late and it was the end of the world. She just hoped he wouldn't put this in his report, or if he did he'd mention how rare it was. Soon though, the little mishap was forgotten as they set off to fine tune their calibrations, the excitement of getting close enough to completing their efforts overruling it.

"I think today is the day," Jeremiah grinned.

"I think you're right, sir!" Naomi all but bounced excitedly. They had succeeded in linking their calibrations with the device, ensuring it would be able to operate in a subspace neutrino two way communication.

"I'll go get ready, are you good to finish the report?" he asked.

"Of course!" Naomi nodded enthusiastically. When he left, Naomi set off to write the exiting report, completely putting her earlier morning activities and subsequent tardiness to her morning shift out of he mind. Funny how after an unforgettable night and _morning_ with Icheb she was able to focus much more clearly on her work. Maybe Hannah had been right, maybe she just needed to get him out of her system... though she knew of course that once she got him out, he'd be right back in. Naomi sighed and tried not to physically roll her eyes at her own lewd mental words.

"Naomi Wildman."

Naomi jumped with a gasp at the familiar voice and spun around, not having expected him to be there. How long had she been working on writing her report? "Icheb, shouldn't you be getting the meeting ready? What are you doing here?" Disrespectful or not, he had scared the hell out of her! He really needed to learn not to sneak up on her like that.

Icheb lifted a brow at her unusual insistence. "I am fairly certain as Captain I have free reign of the ship? The better question is what are you still doing here? You're going to be late again, you're usually early. I came by to see if you needed any help?"

"If I'm late at all today it's your fault," she mumbled under her breath, knowing he'd be able to hear her anyway. "I'll be there in a second. I'm just finalizing the last bit of my reports before meeting," she explained, raising her own brow when he began to walk over to her slowly with clear intent in his eyes. "I'm confident that we're ready to try the device, _today._ "

Icheb paused and grinned. "That's great news!" he said, honestly elated at the prospect.

"Just give me a sec and we can head over," she turned from him, wondering then if it was such a good idea to turn her back on him at this point, and set off to complete her work. She should have known that Icheb wouldn't have _any_ intention of letting her concentrate. She felt him walk over to her, to once again peer down at her work. She could practically sense him smiling mischievously. "You can't wait for five minutes..." she muttered again, trying not to pay attention to him.

"I am not doing anything," Icheb said in mock protest, though he contradicted himself by sliding his hand over her waist. "Well, _now_ I am," he amended, a clear smile in his voice. Naomi took a breath and continued, doing her best to finish her work, but Icheb stepped closer. He let his other hand reach down her hips in a slow, tantalizing manner, his body pressing up against her as he reminded her of their time together.

Naomi's mind blanked and she cursed under her breath, feeling herself react to his touch instantly. "Damn it, Icheb," she huffed in frustration and turned around, yanking him down to kiss her. Icheb grinned into the kiss and pushed her against the console, devouring her mouth urgently. His hands slipped behind her, pulling her flush against him. Naomi let out a sharp breath and physically forced herself to push on his chest before they got carried away, trying to get him at a respectable distance. "Icheb, what happened to your legendary control?" she asked, completely out of breath.

Icheb thought of the question. Did she really believe him to have that much control? Aside from his desire for her, the question of control had always been a struggle for him. In this case though, it was different and he had to smile a little. "It's all gone," he answered simply, though he stayed still, bracing himself on the console. "Forgive me," he grunted and stepped back reluctantly. "You are right as usual, we should go before we are _both_ late."

Naomi ran a hand through her hair, studying him. "It's not fair that I'm always the bad guy," she scowled, crossing her arms in frustration.

"You are mistaken, Naomi Wildman. You are the _good_ guy," Icheb disagreed, coaxing her to relax her rigidity, taking her hand and squeezing it. "My impulsive passions have always landed me into trouble; you help keep me focused. I am grateful for your evidently far stronger level of control," he said smoothly.

"That's sweet of you to say," Naomi smiled softly, shaking her head at the cheesiness all the same. "Anyway, Icheb you really better go now and let me finish."

"Yes ma'am," Icheb smiled and lifted her hand to his lips, laying a slow, tender kiss on her knuckles.

Naomi grinned at his chivalry, and watched him turn on his heels and walk out. She let out a relieved breath and went back to finishing up her report. Approximately seven minutes later, Naomi had finally finished her report and checked the time. She had just a few minutes to get to the meeting. That in mind, Naomi set off again, running through the halls at full-throttle, PADD in hand. "Sorry!" she yelled as she dodged crew members jumping out of her way. Once she reached her destination, he supervisor was already there, his brow raising at her abrupt entrance.

"Am I late?" she asked, winded by her efforts. She blinked in surprise when she saw who looked like Admiral Sisko on the view screen at the end of the room and held herself a little straighter, embarrassed by her entry. The Admiral merely smiled in amusement and shook his head, letting her know she was off the hook. She had been aware that he would be assisting them, specifically with their Cardassian guest, but hadn't realized he would be here so quickly.

"You're right on time," Kathryn smiled, motioning her to the 'front' of the room. "Icheb and Lieutenant Jeremiah mentioned you have some exciting news?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Naomi smiled happily, walking over to them. She related her report as elegantly as was usual to her, though with clear enthusiasm in her tone, to the senior staff, including Admiral Sisko. She told them they had managed to successfully link the frequencies, using Tetryon signals in correspondence with their Tachyon scan, enabling them to monitor everything coming in and out of the wormhole. At one point Icheb raised a brow, smirking a little at her choice of wording, but she powered through, ignoring him. She explained that it was the final piece to the puzzle and she was ready to aid them however she could whenever they were ready to activate the device.

B'elanna turned to her Captain. "No other tests can be run on the device. It is fully functional and little Wildman's efforts to connect the ships scanners to it are as flawless as she says," she explained. "We're ready when you are."

"All stations are operational and waiting for the green light," Harry reported, glancing over to Tuvok.

Tuvok nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Security is alert and waiting for the order to protect, should we encounter any threats."

"Just give me the word and I'll get us out of harms way lickity-split if things do go sour!" Tom added eagerly.

Sisko nodded. "The Defiant is standing by, ready to assist," he told him and smiled at the other Admiral.

Kathryn turned to the new Captain and grinned happily. "It's your call, Captain."

Icheb looked over each of them and felt the giddiness of an adolescent at the significance of the moment. "I suppose it's 'show time' then!"

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** As I mentioned in the original story, who knows what the Queen does, best not to think of it though. This chapter was influenced by "Float" by FTSE.

Shout-Out

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you, if you read the old version of this you'd know how vastly different my writing style is now!

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** Oh that'd be hilarious! Clearly I need to add Neelix at some point. Steamy fault? Not sure I heard of that term lol. Yeah there's a few more steamy chapters planned a bit later on, but nothing to the degree of chapter 16, at least I think so. That was their first moment together, after all!


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Voyager was completely abuzz with excitement as each crew member worked very diligently, running last minute checks before the device was officially activated. Naomi was beside herself with giddiness, imagining seeing her friends and dear godfather again soon. How long had it been since she last saw him? Almost eleven years, half her life it seemed. Entirely too long! The link between their quadrants would allow frequent and easy access, no seventy-thousand year trips necessary!

While Naomi mentally planned what she would say to her old guardian, Icheb stood on the bridge, doing everything he could to appear as collected and optimistic as he could. Inside him, he worried over what would happen when they turned the device on. Would it create a wormhole as it was designed to do, or would it create a devastating blackhole? He had heard rumors of insanely powerful weapons able to create them. He knew this wasn't such a device, but there was a few keys things that differentiated the two.

As rare in the universe as the volatile substance was, red matter was known to be highly unstable and one wrong move, one little drop would result in an explosive quantum singularity. The Borg had encountered red matter during their use of their main transwarp conduit into different parts of the galaxy. Even the Borg stayed away from blackhole weapons, recognizing the unpredictability and potential of massive life loss. Despite removing individuality and causing general mayhem, the Borg still needed their potential drones intact and _alive_!

While the wormhole device they had used a different approach to puncturing the very fabrics of space, it was still a possibility. No matter how infinitesimal. They relied on already established connections to produce their, along with technology studied by the people who developed the stable wormhole over Deep Space Nine. Assuming nothing went wrong with it, what would await them after they established their link to the Delta Quadrant? Would it be the silence of space, the open arms of their allies, or the weapons fire of their enemies?

Down in Engineering, B'elanna ran several more checks, shouting orders left and right to get things operational. "Finish those calibrations! Ensign Carmen, I want to see those relays covered up before the fireworks start!" she shouted as she made her rounds around the massive room.

"Yes ma'am," the Ensign replied, quickly working to fix the problem.

"Come on people, this is the first official test of the device! You want to impress your Captain, don't you? Let's make this as painless as can be! Then we can all go celebrate, what do you say?" the half Klingon asked her staff, grinning when she heard a cheer. "Alright then, you know what you have to do!" After working to finish the last minute tests, run last minute debugs, B'elanna reported in a green light.

Over at Astrometrics, Naomi stood with Jeremiah at her side, synchronizing the device and turning on the scan. "All clear so far, not a peep from the Delta Quadrant" she muttered, deep in concentration, checking the frequencies and nuances of the delicate inter-spatial connection.

"No anomalous signals detected," Jeremiah spoke into his badge. "The coast is clear."

On the bridge, Harry turned to look at his Captain, excitement dancing in his eyes. "All stations report an all clear, sir. We are good to go!"

Icheb glanced over at Kathryn and Sisko, who had decided to join them for this. When he received equally eager smiles from them he took a breath and steadied himself. "Engage the device," he ordered, his eyes shooting to focus on the view screen apprehensively. The ship trembled slightly and Icheb turned to look at the Lieutenant at the engineering station sharply.

"It's just a minor fluctuation with the inertial dampeners, sir. Correcting the imbalance," the officer said, tweaking the controls. The ship stabilized again and it took a few seconds more before a brilliant flash of blue light covered the screen from the device powering on. The ship gave a sudden, jarring jolt as a wormhole exploded into life some distance before them. Everyone with a screen or window available gawked in amazement at the incandescently beautiful vortex spiraled in front of the ship.

Naomi eagerly set off to work, tracing the connection, her fingers flying over her console as she over it in deep concentration. "Proper stable link established. Wormhole leads to Delta Quadrant. Minor undulations in the neutrino waves, small chatter in the background, but nothing to worry about I think," she reported, scrutinizing the background noise. Jeremiah nodded and relayed the information as she worked.

"Checking wormhole stability... all seems to be within acceptable parameters!" Harry grinned.

They had done it! The mission was a success! A resounding cheer erupted from all corners of the ship. Back on the bridge Icheb shook Sisko's hand who congratulated him and his crew, and accepted an excited hug from his old Captain. Tom Paris pumped his fist. "This calls for a celebration!" he said excitedly, not having grown out of his boyish enthusiasm. "What do you say, sirs? Party in Fair Haven?"

"Sounds good to me," Icheb grinned, turning to the engineering station again. "Lieutenant Williams, disengage the device," he ordered, still smiling cheerfully.

"Aye sir!" Williams grinned back.

A little later, once the ship had been put in order and people settled down a little from their exuberance, small party was put together in the Sullivan's bar. The owner of the establishment was more than happy to host his friends, despite how odd they seemed to the members of the town, older somehow. The party was for anyone who had free time available to join, including members of the Defiant. Both ships mingled happily, transporting from either ship and having a good time. While Harry flirted with a waitress, Kathryn flirted with Michael, and B'Elanna rolled her eyes at all the flirting, Sisko stood talking up a storm to Tom, explaining his own struggle to get by Owen's particularly rigid sense of duty. Both men found common ground and were soon seen laughing and slapping each others backs amiably.

Icheb, dressed in appropriate Irish attire, raised a brow as a 'fair maiden' tried to talk 'sweetly' to him on his way to the tavern. Somehow, the way she was talking to him reminded him of one of the first and more embarrassing conversations he had with Naomi, months ago. The poor hologram was then 'sweetly' scared away by a rather severe red-head with a temper to match. "Hey honey-cheeks! I think there's a couple o' pigs fitt'n your style for you to flirt with over there? Why don't you be a good little tramp an' high-tail it outta here?" she growled in an appropriate accent.

The Irish setting was obviously well suited to her.

Icheb watched the poor 'girl' flush and huff angrily, stalking away. He turned back to watch as Naomi tried not to scowl the hologram's way. "Jealous?" he grinned as Naomi walked up to him, trying to keep things as distant from her as he could among the crew nearby but finding this too good to pass up.

"Not at all _sir_ ," Naomi disagreed, still in character. "I was simply rescuing you from that _hussy_ ," she bit out, brushing her hand idly over her frilly Irish dress. Yeah, name calling was immature, but she was _not_ about to let some hologram flirt with _her_ man. Icheb wasn't the only possessive one in the relationship. Naomi swatted away the sudden girly need to shiver in excitement; they actually _had_ a relationship now, and she still felt like she was on cloud nine. Despite of course knowing it was dangerous and a complete distraction.

"Hussy?" Icheb's laughter was still clear in his voice. "Whatever you say, _my Lady_ ," he smirked, enjoying the reverse in jealousy roles.

Naomi rolled her eyes, her playful accent still going strong. "Oh don't sound so pleased with yourself. Why would I be jealous over you, Capt'in? You're easy on the eyes, to be sure, but cert'inly not _my_ type," she lied, lifting her chin up, grinning when his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Is that how she wanted to play? Fine then, he could play. Icheb leaned in slightly, making sure no one heard him. "That's not what your body told me last night... and then many times again this morning, my ' _bonnie lass'_ ," he whispered, his eyes dancing.

Naomi was unable to stop that shiver this time, though for completely different reasons. She had long ago come to terms with that fact that Icheb was very good with sexual jokes, but it still surprised her every time he talked dirty. Just who taught him how to speak that way? Naomi felt herself heat up at his suggestive tone and at the very pleasant memories he had inspired in her. She cleared her throat and smoothed her hat. "That was _then_ ," she muttered, trying to bat her blush away, unwilling to let him win. "Come on, we should join the others before they come lookin' for us."

"Ladies first," Icheb gestured with his hand, wanting to take her arm like a 'gentleman' but knowing it might attract unwanted attention. Naomi bowed lady-like and led the way to the bar.

When they entered it, clapping made them pause. A lot of the crew went up to them, patting their backs and congratulating them on their efforts. Naomi was confused, she could understand why Icheb would be congratulated, being the one going behind everyone to make sure everything was working in order and as efficiently as possible. All _she_ did though was align the signals, reinforce the scans, and connect the quadrants without the use of present quantum singularities? Well, okay, so maybe that was a little noteworthy.

"Cadet Wildman deserves the recognition, but _I_ don't," Icheb told them in embarrassment. "I was merely the overseer. It was you, the crew, who did the real work!" he said, smiling over at each of them, and then setting his eyes on Naomi.

"Don't be so modest, Captain! If it weren't for you, spearheading the mission when no one else was capable, we wouldn't have gotten this far as soon as we did!" Tom argued. Tom had been promoted to Commander a few months before his invitation to the mission, but they hadn't asked him. Tom hadn't blamed them, he knew that he still had to prove himself to the brass as a leader and Captaincy straight off the bat might have been too much too soon. Honestly he relished the chance to prove himself. Besides, Icheb was turning out to be an excellent Captain.

"If it wasn't for your dedication to seeing that each operation was working flawlessly and without complaints, my job would have been a lot more stressful," Harry added.

"And you Naomi, your efforts on calibrating our sensors to such a distance without a wormhole already present? Spectacular!" B'elanna grinned, walking over to hug the younger woman. "Excellent job, little Wildman!"

"Here here!" Tom, Harry and a lot of the crew nearby cheered, lifting their glasses.

"You guys..." Naomi blushed, not feeling like she deserved such high acclaim. She was just doing her job.

"Cadet, she's right you know," Jeremiah grinned from his spot at the bar, lifting his own glass to her.

Kathryn beamed at them. "Icheb is right though," she began, handing him and Naomi a glass. "I would like to make a toast, to the crew of the newly minted Voyager-A. The ship lives up to its reputation of bringing out the very best in the people that serve aboard her! Captains, Lieutenants, Crewmen, and Cadets," Kathryn winked to Naomi. "You all deserve a round of applause and as much acclaim as any! To the crew!"

"To the crew!" they all shouted happily, lifting their glasses.

"All this celebrati'n without music? Boys! Play a lively one!" Michael Sullivan yelled to the band in the back.

Soon the band began playing a fun, rowdy tune, inspiring the crew and holograms alike to dance happily. Naomi found herself twirling from one dance partner to another, laughing at the fast-paced energetic beat and friendly atmosphere. Tom had temporarily parted from his lovely wife to pull the young woman into a silly twirl. What Naomi didn't know, however, was that he had spun her out right into Icheb's arms. The collision made them gasp at the sudden contact. Icheb had chosen against dancing to this music, feeling it was too energetic for his taste, and had merely stood back and watched... particularly a certain redhead. He hadn't expected Naomi to come barreling into him though and reacted as quickly as he could, catching her.

"So," Naomi panted from the excitement of the dance, slipping from his hold but not moving too far. "Are you going to dance with me, or just stand there looking handsome..?" Being close enough to feel his familiar heat inspired Naomi to trail off distractedly. As it had always been between them since they found each other again, his nearness drugged her. The excitement from the dance wasn't the only reason Naomi suddenly found herself out of breath. How could just being near him promote such a strong desire for him and so rapidly? At least standing that close to each other, they didn't have to worry about being overheard.

Icheb tried to get past his sudden nerves over dancing at such a fast-pace frequency by joking, though it probably wasn't the wisest way to speak while surrounded by so many of the crew. Even so, he could sense her attraction to him as clearly as he always could, and couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her. "What sort of dancing do you want to do exactly? Irish folkdance, or a more traditional dance done behind closed doors?" he asked with a little smirk.

"Icheb..." Naomi muttered in exasperation, unable to hold back her blush, immediately getting his joke. "Seriously though, will you?" she asked again, offering him her hand.

"I..." Icheb grimaced, not wanting to deny her but at the same time seriously not up to dancing like that. Fortunately, or perhaps not, the senior officers were called to the bridge at that moment, by a very nervous sounding officer. Icheb looked around the room, meeting the worried gazes of each of his staff. "Return to your stations," he told the room, pulling away from Naomi. "Go with Lieutenant Jeremiah to Astrometrics," he told her as he stepped back and turned.

The sudden worry over the call. Right after they had established a wormhole, was enough to spur the crew into action immediately. They rushed to their stations as Icheb and the rest of the senior staff made it to the bridge. "Lieutenant Williams, what is it?" Icheb asked the nervous Lieutenant at the engineering station.

"We've received strange signals emanating from the spot where the wormhole had been, sir," the young man said anxiously.

Icheb turned to Harry, who didn't need to be told what he had to do, scrutinizing the reports closely. "He's right, sir."

"Can you put the signal through?" Icheb asked, heart in his throat. A signal from _that spot_ could either mean an echo from where the Wormhole had been, a signal being transmitted from that general location coincidentally, or something or someone from the other side trying to investigate the link they established.

"Yes sir," the Lieutenant put the signal through and they frowned in confusion at the pulsing static with various beeps and flares.

"It sounds like..." Icheb's head tilted, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "Can you clear up the pattern?"

"No sir, the signal is too fragmented to clean from here," Williams explained.

Icheb let out a frustrated breath, crossing his arms to stop himself from fidgeting. "Alright, can you tell me where it originated from?"

The Lieutenant set off to discover the destination origin and winced, not liking the idea of giving so many negatives to his commanding officer. "...No sir, it appears to be coded."

Icheb nodded in understanding. This was why Astrometrics had been upgraded the way it was and why Naomi had been working so hard. "Icheb to Astrometrics."

"Yes, Captain?" Jeremiah responded.

"We've received signals from the wormhole location that we can not decipher from here. It is coded and highly fragmented. Can you and Cadet Wildman clear up the signal, establish its origin?"

Lieutenant Jeremiah only had to glance over at Naomi for her to know what she had to do. Naomi poured over the scans, reading the patterns and using the enhanced software, combined with her own modifications to clean it up. It took a few minutes, but once she finished, she flinched at what she found, recognizing the pattern. "Captain, the signal originated from the Delta Quadrant."

On the bridge, it wasn't just Icheb who froze with anxiety. "What else..?" Icheb asked, wishing he could be there to scan it himself.

"It..." Naomi frowned, not recognizing the coding. "One moment." Naomi set the scan to clear the frequency, unscramble the code and what she discovered made her recoil. "Sir, it's unmistakably Borg."

Icheb couldn't stop himself from pacing on the bridge in agitation. "Can you tell me what the signal is specifically?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

Naomi glanced to Jeremiah who shook his head, not recognizing Borg signals. Naomi focused and adjusted her scan, releasing a breath when she was finally able to decode it. "It looks like some sort of probe, sir, but I don't recognize the specific Borg signature. It doesn't look like they fully caught on to what had happened yet though. For all we know it might have been a cube passing by and saw the wormhole by chance. The strange frequency could be distortion from the distance."

"It's best not to take any chances," Icheb replied and felt the cold smothering feeling of fear. "Keep trying to decipher that signal. I want to know precisely what kind of probe that is."

"Aye sir," Naomi answered and got to work with the help of the Lieutenant.

Distance or not, a Borg signature she didn't recognize? Icheb knew for a fact that Naomi had been fascinated by the horrible machines for a long time, had 'assimilated' a lot of information on them as a child. Seven and her mother Samantha had been completely against her curiosity, but at the time Icheb had thought it was wise of her to know her enemy... so he had subtly given her more material to study. Seven never caught on and Naomi's knowledge on them had increased. The fact that she didn't recognize the signature of something as inconsequential as a probe was disturbing.

Kathryn Janeway and a lot of the crew had been swapping back and forth from one ship to the other as they mingled, but Icheb felt it was time to return the original crews. After calling the Defiant and orchestrating the return of their crews, with the exception of Sisko, he called for a yellow alert to prepare both ships and waited for him and Kathryn on the bridge. Once both Admirals arrived, they went with him to the ready-room. Icheb sat at his desk and sent a report to Starfleet, requesting to speak with the brass and waited with them for the response.

"You really think they're mustering an attack, don't you?" Sisko asked the former Borg, the lines of his face severe with tension. Whatever report Icheb had quickly typed up had the young Brunali staring pensively at his desk once he sent it.

"I believe it is a distinct possibility," the younger man replied simply. "Patrolling cube or not, if they study the link more and figure out how to tie it to Voyager, figure out how to open it again, they _will_ use it to their advantage."

"The bit I know of the Borg compels me to agree," Sisko sighed, leaning back on his seat on the couch. His experience dealing with those monsters told him to trust the young Captain's judgment.

"All we can do now is wait and pray they lose interest," Kathryn muttered, twisting her cup of coffee nervously as she stared out the window.

The three had been waiting impatiently and debating possibilities for the better part of two hours. So far not a peep from the singularity location, but it didn't ease their anxiety. For all they knew it meant that the Borg were studying the signals, tracing it and quickly adapting, learning how to reinitialize the wormhole. Still, they had been waiting for a response for too long, though no doubt Starfleet was getting together everyone they could for this as efficiently as they could.

Icheb was about to go down to Astrometrics himself when his badge went off. "Sir, there's a call coming through from Starfleet," Harry mentioned.

"Put it through the main view screen in my ready-room," Icheb told him and stood to face the screen with the Admirals.

The three saw the familiar face of Admiral Paris looking back at them from Starfleet Command. "Captain Hansen, your report was terrifying," Admiral Paris said, his face twisted into dread. "You've shaken Starfleet to its bones and stirred them into a frenzy. An impending attack from the Borg, are you certain?"

"Every bit of training I received while in the maturation chamber tells me that they will not let the opportunity to get to Sector 001 pass them by," Icheb explained concisely.

"Well, it certainly warranted the formation of the fleet. Starfleet has sent as many ships to your location as it could spare in such a short time. You'll have to make due until more support arrives. If you will, Captain, adjust your codes to the following to join the fleet-wide conference communication." Paris transmitted the codes Icheb needed and once the younger man established them, the screen filled in with the faces of various Admirals and Captains. Icheb recognized most of them.

Admiral Picard stood on the bridge of the Enterprise-F, an Odyssey-class Dreadnought and the most powerful ship in Starfleet. Captain Va'Kel Shon, stood on one side of the Admiral, while Seven was visible a little ways back, no doubt at the science station. It seemed Picard hadn't wanted to pass up the chance to aid them. This time there was no Admiral Hayes to keep him away from fighting the Borg again.

Captain William T. Riker was on the Luna-class starship Titan. Beside him was his wife and diplomat officer Commander Deanna Troi-Riker, and on his other side was his first officer, though Icheb couldn't recall hearing her name before. Icheb had however heard of Troi's amazing track-record and prowess as a diplomat and counselor, but something about Betazoids always put Icheb on edge, despite knowing Troi was only half Betazoid.

Captain La Forge was on the Galaxy-class starship Challenger with the first independent Borg drone known as Hugh in the background. Last Icheb had heard of the unusual independent Borg drone, Third of Five, he had been leading a group of Borg rebels, trying to teach them individuality. They had successfully broken free of the control of the Android Lore and Hugh did all he could to lead them. Unfortunately, a lot of them still could not cope with the loss of the hive mind and it was aggravated when Hugh had tried to disconnect them from each other completely. They once again fell into disarray and the rebellion collapsed. The loss of his little collective had injured Hugh, who had made great strives in breaking through the collective.

In the end, he decided his time was better suited to providing intelligence to the Federation and underwent his own de-assimilation procedure. While he no longer sported as many implants as he once had, appearing as a man of short stature in his late thirties with light brown hair. His procedure was not as efficient as Voyager's doctor had been on Seven of Nine, Icheb, and the other Borg children. It was however obvious he was in the process of getting his last few done. Even so, Hugh had jumped at the chance in helping his old friend on the Challenger.

Captain Shelby was on the Nebula-class starship Sutherland. Icheb had once read that Elizabeth Shelby had been invited to the Titan as Riker's second in command, but she had evidentially decided against it and sought Captaincy instead. The two former rivals remained friends and it wasn't odd to find Captain Shelby's ship alongside the Titan.

And of course Captain Chakotay stood on the bridge of Voyager's original sister ship, the Intrepid. Chakotay and the rest of the former Maquis crew had suffered a lot of obstacles, but the Federation had decided in the end that over seven years of stellar service to Starfleet, bringing good name to the Federation, opening ways for allies in other parts of their galaxy to possibly join them in the future, and aiding them in returning their lost ship back home, facilitated in some leeway.

Chakotay had been the original intended Captain of Voyager, but he had turned it down, knowing what plans Starfleet had for the miniature warship and decideding he'd prefer to stick closer to home for a while. Instead he took on Captaincy of the Intrepid. Amazingly enough, as virtually identical as the Intrepid-class ship was to Voyager, Chakotay often found himself homesick.

"Captain Hansen. It's good to officially meet you, a shame it couldn't be under better circumstances," Picard said, receiving nods of agreement from a few of the others.

Chakotay leveled him with a friendly smile, happy to see the young man and proud of his accomplishments. His eyes lingered a second on Kathryn, before looking back to Icheb. Icheb found this a little interesting. He had been under the assumption that the older man and Seven had been a couple, at least, that was the rumor on Voyager ten years ago. Apparently, either they kept their relationship completely private, or they hadn't worked out. The look he gave their former Captain seemed to suggest he wasn't currently in a relationship with her. However, he might have been reading into it too much, as was usual for him no matter how old and mature he got.

Turning back to the expecting officers before him, Icheb nodded in greeting to them. "Likewise, Admiral. I've been an avid student of your career for a while," he responded, still feeling inadequate among them.

"Captain, we are traveling at maximum warp and will be at your location within the hour. How much time do you suspect we have?" The Andorian Captain of the newest Enterprise asked.

"There is no way to tell, Captain, I simply know for certain they will not let the opportunity slip by," Icheb answered.

"Voyager is equipped with modulating shield frequencies and transphasic torpedoes. How prepared are your ships?" Kathryn asked the general audience.

"The Enterprise, thanks to the help of Seven of Nine, has been refitted to fight the Borg," Picard explained, nodding to the civilian scientist near him.

"Yes, we are indeed grateful to her assistance. I believe she will be a valuable addition to the fleet during this crisis," Va'Kel Shon smiled to her as well.

Seven nodded back to them amiably and then smiled over to her adopted son. "Just give me the word and I will provide whatever assistance you may require," she told him, conveying her motherly affection to him through the distance. Icheb smiled back and nodded, feeling calmed by her presence.

"The Titan's shields are in the process of upgrading, but we have a full compliment of transphasic torpedoes," Captain Riker explained.

"The Sutherland is prepared for whatever comes our way, Admiral," Captain Shelby responded with confidence.

"Same goes for the Challenger," Captain La Forge nodded as he looked over a technical readout from Hugh.

Chakotay smiled to both of them. "The intrepid may not be as war-ready as her sister now is, but she's a tough little ship and can handle her own. We have full compliments of the latest warheads and our shields have been upgraded months ago, along with her ablative armor."

Icheb and Kathryn smiled and nodded toward Chakotay, glad to have him with them. "And the other ships?" Icheb asked with a tilt of his head, doing what he could to remove the tension in his shoulders.

"Most of the other ships are either prepared for the fight or being upgraded as we speak," Picard answered. "You seem concerned, Captain."

Icheb wondered how much of his stress he was broadcasting, feeling embarrassed from his apparent lack of control. "The signal we detected I do not recognize from any of my records, sir. I do not believe it is a technology any of us-" Icheb's eyes flicked toward Seven, "-are familiar with. I do not know how _prepared_ we are in actuality."

Picard let out a tense breath and pursed his lips, nodding to him. "The best thing we can do now is hope it will be enough."

Icheb placed his hands behind his back. "Yes sir."

"Captain. I realize asking this of you, especially considering the unusual circumstance of your promotion, may be a bit much, but we need a fleet commander fully versed in Borg technology. Will you consider leading the attack?" Picard asked.

Icheb couldn't stop his jaw from unhinging slightly, eyes widening. "Sir! I..." he cleared his throat, trying desperately to control his shock and apprehension. "Would you not be better suited for this? Surely you know as much about the Borg as myself? Especially with Seven to aid you?"

Jean-Luc Picard regarded his question seriously. He had initially proposed to handle the fleet himself, but Starfleet had decided he had been too involved with the Borg and subsequent battles, too compromised and they felt they needed fresh eyes to direct the battle this time. Picard had been granted auxiliary power and the ability for him, Kathrine Janeway, or Seven of Nine, who all shared prior battle knowledge of the Borg, to take control should Captain Hansen be unable to lead them effectively. At least he wasn't tasked to monitor the neutral zone this time! Still, he did not wish to thwart the young Captain of a career defining and character building opportunity.

Picard decided a little white lie wouldn't hurt. "I'm afraid my time with the Borg has been too... traumatic." The former Borg Admiral inwardly grimaced, seeing the skeptical eyebrow raise in the youth's chiseled face. Maybe not. "Starfleet has decided on using a newer set of eyes to direct the battle. Your time as a Borg, however limited, will serve to catch the Queen off guard. From your own accounts it is reasonable to assume she knows a limited amount of you, mostly from your assimilation before she cut your cube off. If I led the fleet, she would recognize my strategies too quickly and adapt too soon," he explained.

Icheb resisted suggesting that Kathryn or even Seven take over, but knew that Kathryn was there mostly to monitor his progress. He also knew that Seven had been through enough with the Borg to want to be as much of a background assistant as she could, feeling better suited as a consultant than a soldier. Even so, the overwhelming feeling was tangling his thoughts and making him feel like sweating. How could he possibly be asked to take control of so many? Was all of his experiences leading him to this moment? He had experienced loss of control as a Borg drone, and now he was asked to take control of a figurative collective to fight them? "Sir, are you aware of my initial moments as a drone?"

"Yes, Captain Hansen," Picard nodding, giving the young man a look of sympathy. "I was made aware long ago. That does not dissuade me of my belief that you will be the fleet commander we need. I have been following your progress in Starfleet since you joined. You have impressed many, including myself. We know you are more than capable for this, otherwise I would not have brought it to your attention."

"I... thank you, Admiral," Icheb said, feeling quelled from hearing such high praise from one of the Captains he had idolized in his youth. Captain Kirk might have been a brilliant strategist, but Picard had been the first to tangle with the Borg in the original time-line, the first to become a Borg and then be rescued. He had fought tooth and nail and was the first to defeat the first incarnation of the Queen. If _he_ thought Icheb could do it, then maybe he could? "I accept the responsibility, sir." Icheb was aware of the nonjudgmental, confident looks he was receiving from all of those on the view screen, each of them having endured a trial by fire once before, and felt relieved.

"Good," Picard nodded in approval and told him the code he needed to know to take control of the fleet. "Don't worry, Captain, part of being in a fleet means you're never far from comrades ready and willing to support you," Picard added with a meaningful smile. Icheb had to keep himself from smiling like a fool, comforted by the fact that the legendary former drone Admiral seemed to have taken a liking to him and was willing to support him. It seemed Icheb had found himself a mentor in the older man.

The ships had arrived within the hour as promised and coordinated a defensive position pattern around the location of the wormhole, preparing for the worst. While Kathryn saw to Sisko's return of his ship after discussing with him how the Defiant could better support them, as the ship was one of the smallest in the current company, Icheb stood with his arms crossed on the bridge. "Hansen to Astrometrics. Lieutenant Jeremiah, Cadet Wildman, talk to me, what kind of probe is it?"

"Unclear sir. I haven't been able to properly identify it. There are simply no records to match it. Maybe you would be able to recognize it better?" Naomi suggested, preparing to send the signal to him.

"Send it to the bridge," Icheb told her and went over to the Operations station, nodding to Harry when the older man stepped back for him. Icheb poured over the scan and frowned, deeply troubled when even he could not recognize it either.

"Sir?" Harry queried softly, resisting on placing a comforting hand on the younger man. He had seen the stress in him, the tensing of his shoulders, squaring of his jaw, and the way he braced himself over the console. Whatever Icheb had seen was not good, at all.

Icheb shook his head, not knowing what to say for a moment. "I just... don't know," he whispered to him, hoping to not alert the greener bridge crew of their Captain's distress. The signal was unlike anything he had ever seen. Whatever this was, had to be some sort of technology the Borg had developed after he had been rescued. It troubled him greatly that Voyager might just not be equipped to handle them after all.

"Understood," Harry nodded and stepped back to his post when Icheb pulled away.

Icheb took a deep breath and went over to sit at his seat, giving his head a slight shake when Tom leveled him with a questioning look. Three hours had past without so much as a peep from the Borg, but it only left them all the more uneasy. And then, a signal was detected and every view screen in the fleet tuned in to see a spark of light, a singularity struggling to reignite. Seconds later the wormhole burst into life and the fleet received reports of massive activity coming from it. Before they knew it, the familiar, terrifying visages of cubes began to pour through.

"Red alert, all hands to battlestations!" Icheb cried, rushing to take his seat in preparation. He spoke the codes he needed and signaled the fleet. "Fleet commander to all ships, initiate modulating shield frequencies and prepare to engage the Borg," he spoke into the com. Even as he issued the order, fear and self doubt gripped him with its icy bony fingers, seizing his hearts ruthlessly.

"Well _this_ is familiar! Three cubes- wait, five, no eight, ...fifteen Borg cubes coming through!" Harry told them, gaping at the number. The number sounded familiar, did they always travel in packs of multiples of three? Or was it coincidence? One cube was difficult enough to fight, but fifteen? And the wormhole was still open. They knew that it wasn't only going to be that current amount, but they had no way of knowing just how horrible it would soon get.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tom gaped.

The Federation had fought in a few battles against the Borg before, but it had usually only been against one. The Borg had attempted an invasion to the alpha quadrant with Admiral Picard beating them back. Only with his prior knowledge to that particular Queen's tactical motives was he able to destroy it and save them. Fifteen cubes meant the Queen wasn't taking any chances this time.

One of the cubes made a beeline directly toward them. The communication between the fleet was cut off sharply and the horribly mechanical disembodied voice of the Borg was clear for everyone to hear. "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

When the fleet disregarded the Borg's suggestion and began to resist, the Borg took that as a sign they would have to be persuaded forcibly. Voyager's chief of security's fingers flew across his console, getting their own defenses and weapons online. "Captain, they are charging weapons."

"All hands, brace yourselves!" Tom yelled into the com. The glaring flash of an orange light was the only warning they got as Voyager violently rocked by the inevitable, brutal dual-bank beam attack.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** Red matter, because if it exists in ONE universe, it can surely exist in others. Red matter belongs to Paramount. By the way, this chapter with all the techno-military-babble was both frustrating and very fun to write, just so you know. This chapter influenced by the atmospheric music "Transgenic" by Trifonic.

Shout-Out

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** Thank you, the reason I worry a little is because I'm capable of writing much more explicitly and sometimes forget to filter myself. But if you feel I'm good to go then so be it! That fanfic sounds familiar, I might have read it years ago I dunno. About what you said on the medical advancements, SHHH! I know already lol I have... plans. Ehem.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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There were too many of them!

This was far worse than the horrific battles of Wolf 359 and Sector 001 six years later. And each of those intensely devastating battles had been against only a _single_ cube, not _fifteen_ of them! Fifteen super powered Borg cubes, relentless war machines with the collective will and drive to conquer all in their paths.

The Federation had been vastly unprepared for that battle and lost tragically. Then again, one could argue that one of the defining reasons they had failed so viciously was because Jean-Luc Picard had been a Borg with Starfleet tactical knowledge at his disposal. Even so, even _without_ him as Borg, they still had supreme advantage over them. While they had the confidence that their enhanced weapons designed specifically by the Admiral Janeway of the other time-line to fight the Borg, there was still a chance they could lose just as brutally.

Reports from the fleet-wide communication poured through as the ships struggled to keep themselves from being annihilated. Their defensive line had been broken and they had to circle back around to regroup. So far the new defenses were able to stop some of the more destructive weapons the Borg cubes employed, but it would only work out for long. The Captains struggled to help each other, whipping their ships from one section of the battlefield to the next, trying desperately to avoid being hit. All the while, their _fleet commander_ was having a nervous collapse.

As Voyager rocked viciously from another attack, Icheb braced himself on his seat, unable to get himself to move for a second. He found himself petrified from terror, seeing their ships begin to fight off the massive mechanical monsters. In his mind, Icheb heard the screams of a little boy, of _himself_ , moments before his assimilation into the collective. He could not stop the awful repressed memories of the time before he was assimilated, flashes of his doomed childhood, from then violently resurfacing.

Contrary to what people assumed, Icheb had been well into his childhood and aware of the dangers of the Borg. When his parents had detected the passing cube near Brunali Prime, he had been very scared. He could now remember glimpses of that fear, of his mother saying everything would be okay now. At the time Icheb hadn't understood what his mother meant, but now he knew that after he had passed out, it had been because he was dosed the same way he had been when he returned to his parents the last time.

Icheb felt himself shudder. His younger self had awoken in an empty transport just as the Borg finished tractoring the craft in. What could he do? He was a very small boy with no knowledge of space craft controls, tactical situations, or even self defense. He remembered feeling intense confusion at first, but it quickly turned into crippling fear and panic. He had cried for his parents, tried every control he could reach to try and contact them, and screamed in terror as the Borg boarded the craft and injected him, silencing his pleas.

Icheb remembered flashes of his final moments of individuality, the severe pain suffocating him, muffling his sobs before they purged him of his individuality, feeding him information directly into the painfully intrusive cranial implants around his brain. Helpless to stop it, he knew that the nanoprobes were reworking his very bones, violently turning most of them into a mechanical endoskeleton.

After that, he didn't remember anything, nothing but the information from hundreds of years of Borg development, nothing but the voices of thousands, all speaking at once, deep inside his head. He was under the steady transformation into a mindless machine before he was awoken several years later in the defective maturation chamber. It was a miracle he hadn't had frequent nightmares, but his mind had repressed the traumatic experiences, and it took being attacked by them again to force them to the surface. And it couldn't have been at a worse time. Hearing the chatter of the fleet over the com, so similar to the drone of Borg voices, served to bring Icheb back to that time, making his heart race and body shake.

"Captain?" Tuvok probed inquisitively, giving the young man a critical look. Tuvok didn't have to initiate touch telepathy to know that the young man was experiencing a heightened degree of anxiety. He looked about ready to snap at any second and was pale enough to appear sickly.

Kathryn Janeway stared in concern at one of Voyager's grown children. "Icheb?" she questioned gently.

Icheb could hear voices near him trying to reach him. He wasn't on the cube, he was on... his ship. His ship... Voyager. Voyager? The fleet? The Borg! Icheb blinked back to the present and it was everything he could do to keep himself together, feeling suddenly intensely overwhelmed by the situation. Had Starfleet made a mistake with him? Was he truly prepared to be a Captain? Did he really have what it took to fight off the Borg and in such vast quantities? How could he possibly hope to reign in control of the situation when he could barely keep himself stable? No, he really couldn't afford to think that way, not now, not when so many depended on his sanity.

The ship gave another hard jolt as a familiar green light surrounded them. "Captain, they've locked on to the ship!" Harry told him.

"Your _orders_ , Captain?" Tom questioned worriedly.

Janeway had been standing on the bridge silently, had seen Icheb's panic attack, his freeze, and feared she would have to take control of the situation soon if he didn't snap out of it. She had always known Icheb to have a gentle soul, unwilling to hurt anyone and had only done what he had as a drone because it was literally all he knew. Now with a crisis of this magnitude, so much fear and death, it rattled him like nothing else. At the last second, just before Kathryn could give up and take control of the situation, Icheb's demeanor changed.

Icheb physically forced himself to focus on the situation and got to his feet, nodding to his concerned officers. He took a deep breath to recompose himself and concentrated at least on resolving the current problem. One cube? He could handle that. Analyzing the situation, Icheb snapped himself into action. He knew that the Borg left themselves minutely vulnerable at a specific spot when they used their tractor beam. It would take a precise hit to disrupt it. Icheb was aware that sending a modulated signal pulse directly through it, like Voyager had done on 'his' cube, could disrupt it as well, but that would take too long. "Mr. Tuvok, arm transphasic torpedoes," he said as his fingers rapped over the console on his seat. "Fire a torpedo to these specific coordinates."

"Aye sir." Tuvok read the trajectory and input the commands into his console. "Torpedo away," he announced and they watched the torpedo fly directly toward the very small tractor beam port, clogging it before the weapon detonated. They were free from the tractor beam and circled around the cube.

"Mr. Williams, power distal ionic deflector plates," Icheb told the young officer at the engineering console. "Initiate attack pattern omega-six," he then ordered the helmsman, his hand shooting to stabilize himself as the ship shuddered from another attack. The plates powered to life, fielding the ship with further protection. Voyager swept around the cube in an orbiting pattern, facing toward it as it skated around it.

The problem with that attack pattern was that it left Voyager's sides completely vulnerable, making it receive several direct hits to its sides, but that's why it had the ability to compensate with the specifically designed deflection plates on either side of the nacelles. "Mrs. Paris, what is the current energy output of the deflection plates?" The half Klingon told him the specific amount it was putting out and Icheb frowned slightly, knowing they had limited time to do what they needed to do. "Mr. Tuvok, engage Lateral Tetryon Cannons." Kathryn walked over to the other side of the bridge, bracing herself at the railing as she watched the young Captain snap orders left and right with concise precision.

"Cannons priming. Might I remind you, Captain, the cannons have not yet been properly tested?" Tuvok mentioned with raise brow.

Icheb nodded in understanding. "I am aware." On the other side of the plates on either side of Voyager's nacelles, armor casing collapsed, revealing the reverse engineered Hirogen cannons capable of punching through shields like cutting beams, much faster than the propelled fire of a torpedo. Borg shield generators were deep inside the cubes, making it normally very difficult to effect them. The concentrated beam of the cannons on a single point however did very high damaged compared to normal beam banks and could cut through to their generators quickly. The only drawback was that they sapped a lot of their energy quickly and had to be recharged after a single use. They were still prototypes, after all.

"Shields down to seventy percent," Harry told him.

Tuvok looked up from his console then. "Cannons at the ready."

"Disable their shields." Icheb ordered and watched two brilliant blue beams of light concentrate on the cube, shredding its shields apart. The cube seemed to spin from the residual attack after its shields were depleted, before righting itself and preparing another attack, suffering moderate damage from the cannons. Icheb's eyes narrowed, studying the attack pattern the cube exhibited, recognizing it. "They are going to try using a cutting beam. Are their generators still damaged?"

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok reported.

"Good. Fire a tricobalt torpedo directly into their prime beam port the second they engage it." Icheb knew the dangers of using tricobalt warheads, but was glad their little warship was equipped with them all the same.

Tuvok waited a few seconds until the port opened. The cutting beam had only a second to damage the outer layer of Voyager's armor plating, but the force was enough to jar the ship. At the same time, Tuvok gave the commands to launch the torpedo. "Torpedo away." The crew held their breaths, but their only real warning to the destruction of the cube was the bright orange and green flash before their ship was sent hurtling back from the shockwave, narrowly avoiding colliding with another ship behind them.

"Damage report!" Tom yelled, lifting himself off the ground as smoke bellowed around them. He winced and wiped blood that fell into his eyes, figuring he had hit his head on his fall. "Admiral, are you alright?" he asked then, watching Ensign Aida, the science officer, help her up.

"Just dandy," Kathryn groaned, patting the officer's arm in appreciation for her help.

Harry coughed and forced himself up, groaning in pain. "Decks one through... four have suffered moderate damage. Injuries reported but no casualties. Armor..." Harry coughed again. "Armor durability down to forty percent. The... detonation sapped a good portion of our shields. They're down to fifty-nine percent," he wheezed, hoping he hadn't cracked a rip when he collided with his console.

Icheb opened the fleet channel and told them how to effectively destroy the cubes, at least until they learned to adapt, receiving an immediate acknowledgment from the fleet. A lot of the other ships might not have had cannons like they had, but the pattern of attack worked well and they could use substitutes for similar effect. Not many of them had the extra side armor that Voyager had either, but they could compensate by diverting their shields and being quick. A further use of distraction from another ship could aid them in receiving minimized damage. The cubes had limited vulnerable spots so they had to take advantage of them when they could. Icheb went over his knowledge over Borg cube specs and tactical patterns and recommended some effective strategies to the fleet before checking in with Astrometrics. "Status of the wormhole?"

"We can't read anything coming in or out of the wormhole, sir," Jeremiah reported grimly.

Icheb frowned, not having anticipated this. "Clarify."

"There seems to be a dampener of some kind. It's difficult to say where it's coming from. Our scans can't penetrate it," Naomi answered, frustrated all of her hard work was going to waste when they needed her modifications the most. Not even Icheb's gravimetric sensor designs he had incorporated into Voyager years ago worked.

"Keep trying," Icheb ordered, watching the cube debris floating around them, feeling slightly less daunted by the battle at the sight. Seeing that they could be destroyed by one ship lessened their terror slightly. The small victory was short-lived however, as the destruction of one of the cubes was noticed by their enemy.

"Another cube on an intercept course," Tuvok announced.

"Captain, the Phoenix is under heavy fire," Tom said, bringing attention to the damaged Nebula-class starship off their port bow being singled out by a cube.

"Ensign Flores, maneuver us to offer assistance to them," Icheb ordered the helmsman, keeping his eye on the cube that was still flying toward them. This was a risky action; the cube attacking the Phoenix was on its last leg so could be easily dispatched, but they were trailing another closely behind them, which would mean they would have to deal with two.

"I am reading an imminent warp-core breach on the Phoenix," Tuvok mentioned.

"Get them on board!" Tom ordered hastily.

"Aye sir," Tuvok rapidly worked to bring the crew of the Phoenix on board, just as the second cube barreled toward them.

Meanwhile, Naomi and Lieutenant Jeremiah worked diligently to scan the wormhole to try to find out exactly what they would be facing eventually. Try as they may they could not and began trying to figure out where the interference was coming from. It was as though the Borg had discovered a way to block any and all signals going into it, masking their forces. A particularly nasty shake from weapons fire sent them careening toward their consoles, gripping them for support. After a few seconds they straightened and went back to work. "You okay?" Jeremiah asked at seeing Naomi wince and shudder from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah. I think I twisted my wrist," she mentioned wearily. "I'll be fine, the adrenaline will keep be going," she said with a weak smile. It was then that Naomi saw the console near her supervisor turning red, smoke piling up from it as electricity visibly began to sizzle over it. "Lieutenant!" she called him, but he was too concentrated on his work. The console was about to explode and her supervisor was standing right next to it, frantically trying to keep up with the signals coming from the activity around the ship and bypassing the mysterious signal block. "Gary!" Naomi yelled again. "Step away from that console!"

"Just a second!" Jeremiah yelled back. "I think I figured out how to get through the frequency dampener!"

Naomi's eyes widened at the sound of the crackling and knew she had only seconds to react. "No time!" She rushed to him and bulldozed her body right into him, knocking him out of the way. The next thing she knew, her world was on fire and soon after all she heard was a piercing, ringing sound in her aching ears, disorientating her for only a second before all her body could then process was excruciating pain. Naomi shrieked in agony, twisting away from the flames as her skin was lit ablaze from the massive eruption. Seconds later she was sent flying back until she hit the ground hard. She would have screamed again from the feel of her shoulder forcefully being wrenched out of its socket, but the force in which her head slammed against the floor rendered her unconscious first.

"Naomi!" Jeremiah screamed, rushing to her side as smoke and electricity surged around him. The Lieutenant grabbed her and pulled her away from the wreckage, checking her. Naomi's wounds were grisly, dark red and black bleeding wounds, and charred uniform outlining gaping horrible oozing blisters. Her arm was bent in an unnatural way and blood was steadily running down her cheek from her left eye. Checking her vital signs, Jeremiah's heart stopped when he found that she didn't appear to be breathing. He checked her pulse, gaping when he couldn't seem to find it with all the rocking of the ship. He quickly tapped his badge. "Jeremiah to transporter room, medical emergency! Two to beam directly to sickbay!"

"Aye sir!" The officer on the other end acknowledged and transported them right away.

The doctor had been treating various injuries throughout the tense battle with the Borg, but hadn't expected a new patient to be brought in via transporter... at least, not this soon into the war. When he saw who it was, his proverbial heart stopped. "What's going on?!" he rushed over, looking over the half Ktarian and gaping at her wounds. "Help me," he said firmly, gentle lifting the woman from the floor.

"A console exploded near me while we were working, Naomi shoved me out of the way," the Lieutenant explained in a rush as he helped the doctor carry her over to one of the remaining free beds.

"Please step back, Mr. Jeremiah," the doctor ordered.

Jeremiah backpedaled and watched nervously, hoping the girl he had come to see as his colleague, his equal, and his friend, was still alive. The doctor went to work to restart her breathing, getting it going though the damage from the blast made it difficult for her to expand her lungs properly. That done, he pulled out his scanner to access her injuries further. After another rough shake, he braced himself on the far wall from Naomi's bed, but kept his eyes trained on the medical team. "Is she... alive?" he asked anxiously after the medical staff had stabilized her enough and the initial scans were completed.

"Barely," the doctor said in distress as he prepared the little defibrillator pads over her chest in case her already weakened heart gave out during the procedure she needed.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on, rocking the ship violently from multiple weapons fire. So far the shield modulations were working on the fleet. Some of the ship were equipped with the extra ablative armor as well, which helped a lot from cutting beams. Aside from the absence of Locutus of Borg, the only real differences between this battle and Wolf 359 or Sector 001 was the upgraded weapons, shields, and armor. If it hadn't been for the added measures in resisting the Borg, they would have lost all their ships against even just a single cube. All things considered they were doing well so far, though they knew it wouldn't remain as easy for long.

Eventually the Borg would adapt.

Admiral Picard stood scrutinizing the tactical strategies the young fleet commander had issued, finding them as efficient as he expected from him. He had heard the slight waver in his voice when he first began speaking to the fleet, and knew he was still struggling with his self worth and demons of his own, but was bravely keeping them locked out of his mind. Still, fear and tempered pride would keep the man's head on straight and so far the fleet was doing well. There were a few starship casualties, but with quick enough reaction time from nearby ships, their crews had been transported to safety.

Screams of fear and death, not currently present in the open fleet communication channel _so far_ , echoed in Jean-Luc's head from long ago. Picard felt his own shudder of past pains all but freeze him in his place. Memories of his time as a Borg ravaged his mind. All the drills, decapitations, agonizing probing and purging of his individuality, the mocking voice of the Queen in his head.

Even now he could almost hear them, whispering, beckoning. It was the same every time he fought the Borg, including when he battled with the Queen when she tried to change the past. Every time, the faces of the people he had personally assimilated haunted him, screaming for him to stop, that he was a Starfleet officer, and each time he would tell them their attempts to reach him were irrelevant, he was no longer Picard and he would personally assimilate the Federation.

"Admiral?" Picard blinked and looked over to his former Borg consultant. "Are you well?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Simply ghosts of the past rattling my chains," Picard smiled fleetingly and turned back to the battlefield. "Ensign, initiate attack pattern gamma-two. Let's see if those new plasma turrets are as effective as you boasted, Captain Shon." Below the Enterprise, on either side of the deflector dish, two slots opened and the turrets emerged, priming to fire in rapid destructive succession.

On the Defiant, Admiral Sisko struggled with his own horrible memories.

Sisko's grip on his seat tightened, his teeth clenching painfully. He did all he could to keep a sob from escaping him, covering his mouth as unwanted and unrelenting memories of Wolf 359 haunted his mind. He relived the tragic massacre, haunted by the screams and explosions around him. The unwitting memories sent him back to the Saratoga, before its catastrophic warp-breach destruction, seeing his wife pinned beneath a support beam that had collapsed over her. All the fire and smoke, blinding and burning him. The only thing he could do was take his son and flee, leave his wife behind, telling the distraught boy that everything would be alright... even as the Borg ravaged them pitilessly. Benjamin Sisko forced himself together and glared furiously at the screen. He would not let that happen again! He would fight back and they would win this time!

"Remember me, you bastards?" Sisko growled under his breath, eyes trained on the battle before him. "This time we will rain terror down on _you_. Lieutenant," he turned to his tactical officer. "Fire RF Missiles." At that moment, Sisko was glad he had made friends with a few Ferengi on Deep Space Nine, allowing him to purchase their 'old school' rapid-fire missile launchers at a 'premium price'. Sometimes the high damage, easy to use and low energy cost methods were much more efficient than tangling with the more complicated arsenals modern ships had.

A suggestion to end this battle quickly from their fleet commander inspired the small fleet to regroup in a wide attack pattern. Voicing in her own opinion, Seven coordinated with Icheb, taking over half of the fleet while Icheb took the other, flanking the Borg and funneling them. With their combined efforts and superior weaponry, the fleet whittled the small Borg armada down. Massive damage was beheld by the Borg as they underestimated their willful opponents. The fleet managed minimal casualties as they worked tirelessly to attack the cubes, working as a swarm to single out a solitary cube in a wing pattern to try to disorientate them. Finally, after what seemed like days, the last of the current cubes had been eliminated. They held their breaths for more, but for reasons most of them couldn't figure out, the activity from the wormhole stopped.

The unexpected lull in the battle compelled Icheb to check the status of the ship, assess the damage. So far Voyager's shields and armor were holding, though they had been drained to worrisome levels. When he was sure there were no casualties reported, he checked in on the activity from the wormhole. "Lieutenant, status on those scans?" he tried, but got no response. "Lieutenant Jeremiah, respond?" Icheb frowned. "Cadet Wildman?" Still no response. "Tom, you have the bridge. I'll be right back," Icheb left for the turbo-lift, worry clouding his rationality. Why weren't they answering? Did the lab take too much damage? Were they injured? Were they _dead_? "No, no I am overreacting," Icheb told himself, cold sweat making his hair stick up slightly more than it already was as he ran his hand through it.

Meanwhile, the doctor and his staff had worked tirelessly to safe Naomi's life. They healed her open wounds, administering the injections she needed to fight burn infection while working to coax her shoulder back to its proper spot. They worked for a good while, mending the damaged flesh, re-hydrating her cells, healing her fractured wrist, and repairing the ruptured blood vessels in her eye where she had been blasted by the explosion.

All the while they took meticulous scans of her vital signs, making sure she did not react adversely to the treatment, having to restart her heart once already during the surgery. Once the worst of it was over, the doctor administered a stimulant to help her body naturally recover fluids. Courtesy of 25th century medicine, Naomi looked perfectly healthy, despite a bit of loss of color on her cheeks from her weakened state. While he worked, scanning her frequently to make sure her body was healing properly, he frowned at something disturbing he found, but had no time to investigate further as the Captain charged in.

Icheb took one look at Naomi laying completely unconscious on the bed with many instruments surrounding her and lost all coherent thought in his head and all color in his face. Instruments on the table, flashes of gruesome physical trauma from his assimilation unwittingly intruded into his thoughts again. The images in his head changed then, and he could see not himself, but Naomi on a processing table. His mind ruthlessly showed Borg surrounding her, ready to literally disassemble her piece by piece, replace her already perfect body with awful mechanical abominations. Fear, revulsion and rage surged through him for a second.

"...Captain?" Jeremiah questioned, seeing the unreadable look in his commanding officer's eyes.

Icheb forced the images away. "What..." he swallowed hard. "Lieutenant, what happened? What happened to her?" he demanded, panic tightly squeezing his heart.

"Sir," Lieutenant Jeremiah began, walking over to his Captain. "Cadet Wildman pushed me out of an exploding console. She saved my life," he explained, too overcome by the accident to notice how distressed his Captain was behaving over _her_ in particular. There were many injured crew members in Sickbay, but his eyes were trained on the Cadet for the moment.

Icheb then turned to the Lieutenant. "Mr. Jeremiah, we need someone to continue trying to break through the dampening field. The Borg have stopped for a second, we need to monitor the activity on the other side of the wormhole. We need to know what we're going to face next. Are you familiar with Cadet Wildman's modifications?" he asked tensely.

"Yes sir. I think I may have a solution to our problem. I'll return to my post at once!" Jeremiah promised, casting one more worried look over to his young friend before rushing out. Icheb turned back, moving quickly to Naomi's side.

The doctor could see the panic in the once unsure boy's eyes for his friend as the former Borg approached the bed quickly. "She's fine, Icheb," he said gently as the nurses finished cleaning her up and going off to care for the other patients.

Icheb gave the doctor a severe expression. "Please _elaborate_ , doctor. What _happened_? What is her exact condition?" he asked firmly, seeing the familiar metallic blanket covering her upper body. From what he could tell from how the nurses had cleaned her and the instruments they had used, she looked like she had just undergone an extensive surgery.

The doctor tried not to let his curiosity over how strongly he was reacting to Naomi's injuries distract him. "Right now, she is recovering from dermal-regeneration and ligamental-trauma mending. She had third degree burns to half of her body, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured wrist, a mild cranial contusion, and a ruptured retina. She's okay now, Icheb," the doctor explained gently. Icheb braced himself over her bed, his eyes trained on her frail, weakened appearance, trying hard not to cry. If he lost her... "However." Icheb looked up at the doctor sharply. "There was _one_ other thing I detected while scanning her."

Icheb didn't know how much his already frayed nerves could handle more bad news. "What is it?"

"This should probably stay between doctor patient confidentiality, but under the circumstances and limited time I may have to breach that protocol..."

" _Doctor_ ," Icheb pressed.

"Naomi has significant signs of internal tearing and bruising. From what I've heard, the two of you seem to spend a lot of time together-"

"-How much do you hear, doctor? And from who?" Icheb interrupted in a panic.

The doctor's brow lifted questioningly. "Tom Paris has mentioned to me when I asked about your stress-levels that you and Ms. Wildman frequently spend time together. I can only assume it is recreationally." Icheb visibly relaxed and nodded slowly. "Now, have you played any physically demanding sports? Done any strenuous physical recreational activities recently that could account for the injuries? Or will security have to be notified?"

Icheb tried not to stare at the doctor incredulously, but forced himself to relax. "Strenuous physical recreational activities," he sighed in disbelief. "Yes, you could call it that..." he did _not_ want to have to get into this with the doctor _now_. "Please don't worry about it doctor. I promise what you've detected isn't anything worth being concerned over."

"Icheb, how could I not worry about it? The tissue damage is not severe, but it is very specific. Without wanting to jump to conclusions, I must ask you, has she fallen recently? Kept an accident to herself? The only other explanation is troubling. Has she complained to you or anyone else about anyone? Has she been physically abused or-"

"-Doctor, please stop. I know what it is you're detecting," Icheb explained reluctantly, interrupting him again. "I didn't want to bring this up, especially without Naomi's word on it as well, but it appears I may have to. We've recently undergone a _change_ in our relationship."

The doctor frowned in concern, walking closer to the young Brunali. "What sort of change?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Icheb squirmed slightly, feeling like he was talking about it to a concerned parent. "A change that would be consistent with _internal physical bruising_..." he replied dryly, not willing to go into it in further detail. There was a war going on outside of those very walls between the Federation and the greatest threat in the galaxy they had ever faced, and he was forced to disclose his sex life to the doctor? The day just couldn't get any better.

It took only a microsecond for the doctor to scan his database and discover an appropriate reason behind that combination of conditions. "Oh! I see! Why didn't you simply say so?"

"Our _relationship_ isn't exactly on par with _regulations_ ," Icheb mumbled resentfully, glancing around to be sure none of the doctor's staff were eavesdropping. The doctor merely shook his head and Icheb could practically here the unspoken chiding on being abstinent while on an important mission. "Doctor, _is she alright_?" he asked again.

"Yes, yes, of course," the doctor said, taking out his PADD and reading over his scans. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Aside from some rough handling, there are no signs of impregnation," he happily announced, putting his PADD back down and smiling at him. Icheb felt annoyed at the slight blush that tainted his cheeks. "However, I'll give her a contraceptive just in case, but you two really should be careful. There's no telling how your genetic tampering could effect her or any offspring you chose to have."

Despite his embarrassment and increasing state of anxiety, Icheb's brow lifted in intrigue. "Is that even conceivable? Are we not naturally genetically incompatible?"

"No pun intended I presume?" The doctor smiled mirthfully again, but Icheb continued to give him a steady stare, so he sighed and shook his head again. "Not necessarily. With the advancements in medical technology these days, and a strapping, efficient doctor such as myself, anything is possible. Just remember how easy it was for Tom and B'elanna to have Miral?" Gregory Zimmerman reminded him, injecting the young woman with the contraceptive, unaware that she had been awake for a few minutes already, her eyes closed as she silently listened, partly in amusement, and partly in embarrassment.

"They only had to contend with two species. Any possible child we decided to have would be part Brunali, Ktarian, Human and a small chance of _Borg_ , doctor," Icheb replied tersely.

"Hmm, yes, I see your point. Still, it _is_ possible and if the two of you so chose to in the future, I'd be more than happy to help you through the process!" The doctor grinned.

A weakened voice interrupted them then. "Thank you, Greg..." Both males blinked down in surprise at Naomi, who was wide awake and looking up at them. She had hoped to avoid this, hadn't wanted too many people to know of their relationship or the doctor to make a fuss out of it. "I think we should probably focus on fighting our mortal enemy for now, wouldn't you agree?" she asked dryly, her tone betraying a residual pain.

"Naomi!" Icheb immediately tuned his senses on her. He heard the slight falter in her voice, heard her slightly higher heart rate and her labored breathing, and knew it was _not_ from anything pleasant. "How do you feel? Do you need anything? Are you in pain? Doctor can you get her something for pain?" Icheb asked in rapid-fire, becoming more agitated by the second.

"Icheb! Please relax, I'm okay. Take it easy," Naomi told him as gently as she could, reaching for him until he bent further to her and she was able to caress his face gingerly. Icheb relaxed only a fraction, leaning in to her touch instinctively, desperately seeking her warmth and soothing presence. Naomi had never seen him so incredibly stressed over her like that, and it concerned her greatly. "Are _you_ okay?" He seemed to be pouring his stress into a single source, the most immediate being her.

"Forgive me, I..." Icheb's face contorted in confused distressed, his pupils dilated and uniform sticking to him uncomfortably. The combined stress of the battle, his traumatic assimilation memories resurfacing, the unknown of what was yet to come, and nearly losing the love of his life was suddenly and savagely overtaking him, making his normally reinforced systems fail him.

The doctor noted the alarmingly specific symptoms in the young Captain and quickly went over to pull out a hypospray. "Icheb. Among other things, that we _will_ discuss at a more appropriate time, you are having an acute anxiety attack. I'm going to give you a mild sedative to-"

"No!" Icheb stepped away from them, away from the doctor and the neurologically suppressing drug. "No, please, just give me a moment." He took a couple of deep breaths, his nails breaking through his skin as he clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down and concentrate once again. "A sedative will lessen my focus. I need to be at my peek efficiency."

Naomi stared at his rapidly crumbling form anxiously. She had never seen him so torn apart before. "Please don't kill yourself, Icheb," she begged him softly, her eyes still looking over him worriedly.

Icheb's attention went back to her and he focused on her, moving over to lean in close to her again, laying a soft kiss on her forehead, close enough to her horns to make her shiver slightly from the contact, while he slid his fingers tenderly across her cheek. "I'll be fine, I promise," he assured her lovingly, trying to convey his sincerity and resolve in his eyes for her. For a moment, Naomi and Icheb found themselves laying on his bed, teasing each other and reveling in each others arms.

The soothing memories were interrupted however, as Tom's voice was heard through the coms, jarring them back to the present. "Paris to Hansen. Reports coming in of activity coming from the wormhole, we need you up here," he announced, his tone belaying an intense worry.

Icheb tensed and felt his instinct to rush back to his duties kick in. He hesitated a moment, part of him unwilling to leave Naomi's side. "Go," Naomi gestured with her chin and closed her eyes as he leaned back down to capture her lips, pouring all his worry, fears, and passionate love for her into it, not caring if anyone was watching. After a little bit, Naomi pushed at his chest, smiling reassuringly at him. Icheb's gaze lingered on her a second more before he quickly made his way out, all but sprinting out of the room.

Naomi was a little distressed when a few of the nurses had indeed been watching, but relaxed slightly with the looks of either sympathy or dreaminess they had on their faces. Despite being assured by the doctor that they would not tell, it was still a little embarrassing. "...Alright, I think I'm healed enough," she decided then and began to get up.

The doctor had watched the interaction with rapt fascination. Seeing the radical change in behavior the two of them shared with each other, since he had known them as children, had been astonishing. When he saw her attempting to leave though, he snapped out of it, tucking the observation away for later examination. "Naomi, you need to rest! We just finished the regenerative procedure on you. You've suffered extensive tissue and ligament damage, you shouldn't-"

"-Doctor," Naomi interrupted firmly as she replicated a new uniform and put it on. "With all due respect. We are at _war_. Hurt or not I have duties to preform and this ship needs every available crew to support it. I may still be a Cadet, but I am also a Crewman and have my responsibilities to uphold."

"Alright, but I want you to wear this," he said, pulling out a Neurocortical monitor to gauge her vital signs. Her heart had already given out one time during the procedure, he wasn't sure how recovered her body was from it yet. "I don't recommend you strain yourself too hard, but your argument in this circumstance is valid. Just be careful, okay? Try to avoid diving into exploding consoles..." he added wryly.

Naomi tried not to roll her eyes at his dry humor. "Thank you doctor." She slipped off the bed and carefully made her way to her post as quickly as her recovering body would let her. When she made it back to Astrometrics, Jeremiah motioned her over, explaining how he detected the source of the dampener coming from a key point within the wormhole and by using the deflector dish to send a graviton pulse to it, they were able to disengage it long enough.

What she saw on the other side made Naomi's heart nearly give away a second time that day.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** This chapter mostly influenced by the song "Iron" by Woodkid.

Shout-Outs

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** As I mentioned, I took the liberty to correct her name to "Kathryn" as you suggested, thanks for that! Last time I wrote this I just threw some Captains in willy-nilly and didn't give them any real introduction, didn't even research them properly!


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager and I do not own Star Trek Online, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

Back in the Delta Quadrant, the Queen of the Borg Collective did nothing to mask her furious agitation and glared at the visual telemetry she had received from the battle, safe in her sphere. She stared at the devastation of the first wave of her force with disbelief. She could understand one or two of her cubes being destroyed, but all fifteen? And so quickly? All with minimal loss to the enemy? Only someone with intimate knowledge of the way they functioned, the way she thought tactically, could have helped them in defeating her so easily. But who was it?

The Queen paced angrily, trying to study the strategies of the elusive leader of the pathetic fleet, the useless resistance. She didn't recognize their attack patterns. They seemed almost chaotic, out of control when you first looked at it, but then followed a logical, precise path. This person, whoever it was, thought like she did, like a Borg, and knew precisely how to fight her. The only conclusion she could come up with was that it was a former drone that had been 'rescued' and removed of their perfection.

Could it be Janeway? She wasn't a former drone, but she had fought with her on many occasions and could think like one in a pinch. The Borg have encountered two versions of Janeway and had been thwarted time and again by each. No, Janeway always seemed to try to limit as much casualties and damage as she could, using only brute force as a last resort. This person was decisive and seemed to not care if their ships got in the way of fire.

Could it be Jean-Luc Picard... Locutus? His time by her side, though limited it had been, before he resisted her and she was forced to turn him into just another drone, had compelled her to feel like he would do whatever it took to remove the threat. No, it wasn't him either, she was intimately familiar with his attack patterns and they didn't match this battle either. Locutus was almost agile in his patterns, an elegance born of many experiences in the battlefield. However this _individual_ had limited personal tactical experience.

Could it possibly be Seven of Nine? At one point, she could almost see her specific pattern, the chaotic attacks had synchronized into a devastating end to the initial cubes she had sent. No, it couldn't be her either though, the way the fleet operated before hadn't seem her style either. So who was it?! No matter, she would discover who it was in due time. She would find who the mysterious leader was and would take the pleasure of assimilating them into her perfection. They would use their tactical prowess to service her. Either way, it was time for more drastic measures. Concentrating her mental link, she sent word to her collective to send the fleet her personal invitation.

Meanwhile, Icheb worked with the rest of the fleet to coordinate a defensive pattern, listening to opinions on his com and adjusting the structure of the fleet according to what seemed the most logical. Icheb's badge went off then, a frantic sounding Naomi reporting what she had seen. "Whatever it is, Captain, it's massive and headed in right now. The dampening field is reengaging too, so I don't know how much more I'll be able to tell you about it, but I'll work with Lieutenant Jeremiah to try and bypass it," she told him rapidly.

Icheb immediately coded into the fleet-wide channel. "Captain Hansen to all units. We have managed to detect readings from the other side. There is an unknown threat of massive dimensions coming through the wormhole. Maintain vigilance and be ready for anything," he said, and at that moment the wormhole gaped open as a ghastly mechanical titan of epic proportions began to emerge. The fleet was silent, staring openly at the strangest most frightening vessel they had ever seen. It was roughly the size of six cubes all lined up and stuck to each other, a cylinder in shape and pulsated a deep green.

The crew aboard Voyager was equally distressed, frozen in place as it finished exiting the singularity. "Icheb, what is that thing?" Tom whispered in horror to the former Borg, hoping he could enlighten them and tell them how to deal with it.

"I-" Icheb cringed, suddenly hearing echoes of Borg chatter in his head, knowing instantly that it wasn't coming from the coms this time. Whispers, beckoning him, clouding his thoughts. Whatever that thing was, was broadcasting a signal, trying to reach him and most likely every other former drone in the fleet. Icheb shook his head, trying to clear it, and employed his resistances, fortune finding him again that he had the ability to hold off technological telepathic links. Blinking away the dizziness from his efforts, Icheb concentrated once again, though he felt as though his focus was slipping every couple of seconds and gazed at the metallic mass in front of the fleet.

Since part of his cranial structure was still cybernetic, it allowed Icheb to retain a lot of assimilated data from his time being fed information as a juvenile Borg. Icheb scoured his archives on everything regarding Borg technology, but he couldn't find a single thing that came remotely close to what they were currently seeing. "I... I am unsure," Icheb responded, his eyes glued to the monstrosity. The fleet watched in terror as the cylindrical vessel steadily made its way toward them. It easily dwarfed any of their ships, had a huge weapon port in the front of it, many other ports along its stretch, and jutting spikes along the back.

"It looks like a gigantic torpedo," Kathryn Janeway mumbled distractedly. "Could it be a weapon? A warship? ...Or something equally as terrifying?"

"Unclear, but possibly any of those options." Icheb shook his head, knowing they needed to know more about this new enemy and _fast_. "Harry, hail the Enterprise."

"Aye sir," Harry initiated the call and soon the face of Picard was on the screen. Having given him the command of his ship, Captain Shon let the Admiral handle communications directed to the Enterprise.

"Captain Hansen. Admirable job so far directing the fleet," Jean-Luc congratulated him, though his tone suggested he was reasonably distracted. "...How can we assist?"

Icheb winced, wondering if the Admiral would have said the same thing if he had known how closely he had been to a nervous breakdown. "Thank you... sir," he answered softly, then cleared his throat and straightened. "Admiral, Seven, do either of you know what sort of vessel that is?" he asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

Seven answered before the Admiral had the chance. "I believe I do. I have reason to believe it is a Unimatrix Command Ship. I have once seen plans for something bearing its configuration while as a drone," she answered, doing what she could to assist the Enterprise in preparation. "I assume you've received the transmissions from it? The Admiral and myself have heard the Queen's call," Seven mentioned warily.

"I have. I believe the Queen is trying to find and compromise the fleet's leader," he replied, ignoring the sharp look of concern from his old Captain. "I don't believe she is yet fully aware of me however."

"Let's try to keep it that way," Picard answered.

The fleet chatter suddenly buzzed to life as reading from the command ship indicated heavy activity. A swarm of what appeared to be miniature spheres and mini cylindrical probe crafts flew from the command ship's docking port. The fleet engaged them and it seemed the small probes were capable of using a type of tractoring device to freeze ships, dampen the warp field around their ships and render them incapacitated, allowing the small spheres to swarm and attack. The crackled, distressed and distorted sounds of the fleet battling the new threat burst through the open link. Somehow, the command ship's strange signal was interrupting the communication, making it fizzle and cut out.

"...Freezing our ships..!"

"...Can't escape their... weapon systems... failing..!"

"...Coming from all over..!"

"...Can't... them off..!"

Report after report spoke of difficulty to repel the new threat, swarms of angry probes and spheres clogged the free space around them, tearing through them like a hive of enraged wasps. It was everything they could do to keep up. Cycle the shield frequencies, divert power from this location or that, go in to assist a damaged ship, team up to take down a sphere, eliminate a probe, yet more arrived each time. It was almost like a hydra, each time they destroyed one ship, two new ones seemed to take its place.

"Concentrate fire on the probes for now, remove the obstacle," Icheb suggested. So far the probes where the biggest problem to them, freezing their ships and leaving them helpless to attack. The command ship had been sending simple beam weapons so far, but Icheb could almost hear a deep hum in the back of his head, as though he were somehow in tuned with it and could hear it... what? Powering up?

Another of their ships took a strong hit, but the Enterprise served to be as mighty as ever as it swept through the swarm, raining terrible vengeance on the enemy, like an enraged grizzly bear, mauling viciously at those who dared to threaten its cubs. The powerful dreadnought blasted through, pushing way for the fleet to regroup and finally make a dent on the battlefield. The soft hum in Icheb's head seemed to turn into a furious buzzing, making him dizzy and lose focus every now and then. Whatever the command ship was trying to do, it was increasing in ferocity.

Suddenly, a massive warp signature of combined ships was detected some ways away and the remaining ships watched as the rest of the fleet, including some Klingon and Vulcan ships arrived. A mass of thirty-seven other ships, making their total fleet forty-five. They swept in alongside them, pushing the enemy back, helping to eliminate the current probes and spheres from the area.

The crew of Voyager watched as a Vulcan ship near them used a gravity well device on a few probe ships, following close by a couple spheres. It created a small vortex that drew in surrounding vessels into an event horizon, though it used only a minute fraction of the devastating power of a blackhole. This was one such weapon that Icheb had original thought of earlier. The well drew in what looked like a lot of very small spheres in as well, crushing them before dissipating. Feeling for the first time that they may yet stand a chance at winning, Icheb whirled around to his tactical officer. "Have our cannons had a chance to recharge?"

"Yes sir, they are primed," Tuvok replied.

"Good," Icheb turned back to the screen and scrutinized the battlefield.

The Enterprise was fighting alongside a Klingon Battlecruiser bearing the name IKS Koraga. Icheb was under the understanding that a ship bearing that name had gone down in the Dominion war against the Jem'hadar. Now that he thought of it, he had heard from B'elanna that Ambassador Worf had seen personally to its reconstruction. Perhaps he was commanding the vessel? Looking to the other side, he noticed the USS Aventine frozen in place, sustaining heavy damage. "Ensign Flores, take us to the Aventine. Tuvok, fire cannons in modulated short successions. Remove those probes."

"Aye sir," was the response from both officers. Voyager flew in, bombarding the probes with short bursts of concentrated cannon fire, first removing the shields and then puncturing through the small Borg ships until they exploded, nothing but debris remaining of them.

"Captain, we are being hailed by the Aventine," Harry told him, keeping his eyes on his console, monitoring the chatter and shipwide operations.

"On screen," Icheb ordered and the face of Ezri Dax greeted them. Having studied Admiral Sisko's career led Icheb to know a bit about the Trill Dax and was honored to be of assistant to, at the moment, _her._

"Thanks for that, Captain Hansen," Ezri smiled tiredly, her visage bloodied and fatigued, but otherwise alert and willing to keep fighting.

"Any time, Captain Dax," Icheb nodded. "Would you 'lend us a hand' cleaning up the rest?" he asked, figuring teaming up would be a relevant strategy.

"Absolutely!" Ezri grinned.

Together Voyager and Aventine swept in, aiding others in removing more probes, doing what they could to disrupt their tractor beams and avoiding fire from the massive command ship at the same time. Spheres swarmed the fleet, stinging them like angry bees. There must have been hundreds of those little ships, making friendly fire a very real possibility. The battlefield was lit up like a laser show, flashes from most colors of the spectrum brilliantly lit up the screens, often times blinding them and forcing them to use their sensors to detect where they even were.

Elsewhere, in Astrometrics, Naomi Wildman struggled to work, but tried to keep it to herself, unwilling to alert Jeremiah or anyone else of her weakened condition. Naomi felt her heart at a constant tachycardic state, but did all she could to adapt to the dampening field, trying to trace the pattern and compensate, find a way to disable it permanently. She blinked rapidly, trying to refocus her eyes, to discreetly wipe the sweat from her hands on her uniform. Gary Jeremiah on the other hand, had noticed how sickly Naomi appeared. He had been doing what he could to block the invasive signals from the command ship at his Captain's orders, but was distracted by his colleague. "Naomi, you don't have to be here, I can handle this and trying to crack the dampening field issue.

"I'm fine, Gary," Naomi wheezed, struggling to roll her eyes as her body betrayed her anyway. Seeing that rolling her eyes had made her unbelievably dizzy, she decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all. Instead, she leveled her supervisor with a tolerant look. "Besides, I'm close to _adapting_ to the dampening signal. Do you think a modulated graviton pulse would disable the dampener completely?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to distract him from her _condition._

The Lieutenant studied her, noting her sickly pale skin, shadows under her eyes, and slight tremble. She looked about ready to pass out any second. "...The Borg would probably find a way to repair it again, but it wouldn't hurt to try and take a peek," he answered reluctantly. When the ship took another hit, making them roll against their consoles again, gripping them tightly, he heard Naomi gasp and saw her wince, saw her eyes become clouded over. " _Cadet_ , please don't make me pull rank. Forgive me for saying this, but you look like _shit_. You need to rest," he said worriedly.

Naomi would have smiled at his friendly jab, if she weren't in fact feeling like he called it. "Please don't do that," she instead sighed wearily, forcing herself to concentrate. "That would hurt me more than help me, wouldn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

Naomi looked back at him. "Battles and injuries are a part of Starfleet life, aren't they?"

Jeremiah shifted. "...Well, yes, but-"

"-Especially on a _warship_ like Voyager. I have to learn to adapt to any situation, especially during a battle. No matter how injured an officer is, they have a moral duty to the ship and its crew, right? I'm not mentally incapable of offering assistance. If it will make you feel better, I'll try to take it easy though, okay? But I still would very much like to be as useful as I can," she finished with a pleading look.

The Lieutenant rubbed the back of his neck and sighed in defeat. She was right, and he would have acted the same way, wanting to be as useful as he could until the very end. "Alright, Naomi, you win." Not for the first time, Gary Jeremiah regretted what he had thought of the Cadet when he first learned of his assignment and then met the willful student. She turned out to be every bit as valuable as any ranking officer on the ship. "Okay Cadet. Let's see what you got, what can we do with this signal?"

Meanwhile, Icheb had his hands full coordinating the attack on the command ship, but more spheres poured out of it, regenerating its shields as quickly as they whittled them down. "They're adapting too fast," Tom growled, glaring at the screen. "Ensign Flores, try not to collide with any of our allies, please," he said then, wincing as Voyager narrowly missed a Klingon bird-of-prey. Not for the first time did he itch to take the pilot's seat. He didn't fault the young Ensign, knew she was turning out to be a brilliant pilot and could see himself in her quick reaction time and fancy piloting skills, but at times like this, he missed the adrenaline rush and controls at his whim.

"Sorry Commander!" Flores flushed in embarrassment.

They were taking a beating from the command ship and Icheb felt substandard again, unable to help them defeat a foe with unfamiliar designs to him. But then he noticed a pattern, every time they got the command ship's shields down to fifty percent, the spheres would stop attacking them and concentrate on rapidly raising the command ship's shields again. That was the key, that was the edge they needed.

"Hansen to fleet. Repair spheres stop attacking at fifty percent shield drop from the command ship. As soon as they focus on repairing the shields, concentrate fire on those spheres!" the former drone told them, glancing wordlessly to Tuvok, who nodded in understanding. As the fleet did their best to withstand repeated attacks, they managed to hold themselves together, and when they saw their chance, they grouped together and began their synchronized attack, blasting the spheres away. "Attack the command ship!" Icheb ordered, bracing himself as Voyager and the rest of the fleet swept in, bombarding the ship with everything they had.

"It's working!" Harry cheered.

They watched as the brilliant spectrum of weapons fire rained on the cylindrical menace... but something was wrong. Icheb heard the buzz in his head louder than ever, forcing him to collapse into his seat. "Icheb?" Tom questioned in concern, seeing the ghostly pale and horrified look on his Captain's face. Icheb gasped, feeling as though his mechanical cranium was growing in size and about to burst his head in two. It was _not_ working!

"What's that!?" Flores gawked in shock. They all looked over and saw the command ship beginning to glow a bright green and now they could all hear a strange hum.

"Ensign back us away-!" Icheb suddenly stood, gripping his seat. "All ships, get away from the command ship!" he said to the fleet as he got to his feet again. However, the Borg ship had already finished charging and then released a massive discharge from its enormous weapon port, the gigantic ball of pure energy sizzling as it headed right for the fleet. They had given the Borg the advantage again, grouping together in a pack like they had made it easy for them to attack multiple ships at once. "Break formation! Scatter your ships!" Icheb cried frantically, but the slow moving ball of death was already on them. "All hands, brace yourselves for-" his words were cut off as he and the rest of the crew was thrown from the violent attack.

"...Warp core breach..!"

"...Mayday... ...can't... overload..!"

"...-ing them... on board..!"

"...L...st all control of... ship..!"

The fleet was in disarray, panic and distress evident in the frantic voices over the channel. Icheb angrily wipes the blood from his face and struggled to get up, look up at the screen and saw bright orange explosions in the distance, other ships colliding with each other and the crackle and sizzle of continued weapons fire from the command ship. " _No!_ " Icheb yelled at the sight in rage, seeing many of their allies die. "Status on its shields," Icheb asked with a groan, blinking past the smoke and darkness of the room.

"It is... back at full strength," Tuvok answered as he straightened himself.

Icheb slammed his fist against the floor before standing to his feet shakily. "Damage report?" he said, turning painfully to look over at Harry.

"We've lost most of our armor and our shields are down to forty-two percent. The... the Archer shielded us from most of the blast. They didn't make it," Harry reported quietly, clutching his tender side. "Decks two and twelve report massive damage... fourteen MIA's reported," he said dimly, blinking away dizziness.

"Harry... send repair teams to help them," Tom ordered in a painfully thrashed voice, whiplash from the brutal attack having injured his neck, eyes staring blankly into the grisly battlefield on the screen. The fact that those crew members were reported missing only meant that when the hull ruptured in those decks... they were in all probability flushed out of the ship.

"Aye," Harry replied morosely, handling the operations staff as quickly as his painful reflexes would let him maneuver, directing repair teams to the damaged areas and coordinating with B'elanna to seal off the decks venting into space.

Enraged at their defeat and the, in his mind, massive casualties of the catastrophic failure because of his ineptitude, Icheb struggled to keep his lack of self-worth from clouding his thoughts. Instead, his mind raced to find alternate solutions. After their commanding officer had yet to move, let along say anything, Tuvok looked over at him with concern. "Your orders, sir?" the security chief asked their silent Captain. The fleet still needed to be told what to do to recover from the devastating attack.

Icheb's jaw tightened, his teeth clenching painfully as he struggling to come up with an idea. Why had they chosen him? So far he'd brought more destruction on the fleet than the Borg had. Then, he saw at the corner of his eye another Vulcan ship using their gravity well attack again on more spheres and an idea occurred to him. "Icheb to Engineering," he suddenly said.

"B'elanna here, Captain," the half Klingon responded.

"Status on our wormhole generator?" Icheb questioned.

B'elanna frowned thoughtfully and checked the readings on the device. "It had added shielding to it. Most of the attacks were reflected off of it, so it's still fully operational," she answered quickly.

Icheb sighed in relief, then racked his brain, trying to come up with an alternate solution to what he was currently thinking, even as he spoke his next orders to her. "Power it to maximum output," he told her. If this didn't work as planned, the consequences...

"Sir?" B'elanna questioned, wondering why he would want a wormhole during a battle.

"There's no time to explain. Just _trust_ me!" Icheb snapped, wincing at how rough his command had been, but couldn't keep the stress out of his voice any longer.

B'elanna started in surprise at the savageness of his tone, never having heard him sound so aggressive before... but she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't order something of her without a good reason. "Yes sir," she obeyed without further question. "Powering it up."

Icheb regretted his tone, feeling like he had disrespected her, but he couldn't worry about that right now. He turned to Tuvok then. "Tuvok, as soon as a singularity registers on the sensors, and I mean the _second_ it does, make sure you have a high-yield tricobalt torpedo ready to launch at it. I want it detonated as soon as the wormhole begins to form," he told him, fiery determination clear in his eyes.

"Captain, I'm sure I do not have to remind you of the repercussions of that course of action?" Tuvok warned him.

Icheb held himself straight, trying to appear as collected as he could, despite the distracting pain and self-doubt he was feeling. "I will take full responsibility for any fallout," he assured him, then turned to Tom. "Take over helms control, Commander. I need your quick reflexes and years of experience to help us avoid whatever problems this could cause," he told him.

"Aye sir," Tom gently nudged Flores out of the seat and she went over the the auxiliary controls, ready to aid him in case something went wrong.

"Icheb, is there no other solution?" Kathryn questioned, fearing the worst. She knew what would happen if you introduced a subspace splitting element into a singularity. There had only been a single case of it, but the spatial rupture one had caused was so great it had swallowed an entire system out of existence. One wrong move, and they could all be annihilated off the face of the galaxy.

"No, Admiral, I'm afraid not," Icheb answered without sparing her a glance. There _were_ a few other options, but they would take too long and too many lives could be lost with them. No, they needed something quick and dirty. "Hansen to all ship," Icheb addressed the Fleet. "This last attack has crippled us, but we are _still strong_. Let's show these monsters that we have what it takes to resist them!" Icheb said, not seeing the approving looks from his officers on the bridge. "We are going to attempt a singularity cascade. Move away from the command ship, stay clear and brace yourselves." When he registered a fleet-wide acknowledgment, he set his plan in motion, directing Tom to a specific spot and sent word to launch the wormhole directly behind the stationary command ship. They were still under heavy fire, but most of the ships were now using diverted shields to block the attacks, even going as far as overlapping shields with other ships.

As the ship rocked from another strong attack, Icheb saw his window of opportunity. " _Now_ Tuvok!"

"Torpedo away," Tuvok announced. He waited a few seconds as the wormhole began to open and then commanded the warhead to detonate.

The blast of the high-yield detonation, as was prone for tricobaltic warheads, split the wormhole apart, forcibly converting its event horizon and engulfing it, ripping into subspace and turning it into a massive gravitational singularity, the black appearance making it look very much like a blackhole. The mammoth phenomenon grew in size, swallowing the command ship, but thanks to whatever deity protected them, did not extend further than how already behemoth it was. The fleet watched in morbid fascination as the rupture encapsulated the ship, forcing it to crumble under the intense gravity.

"All ships, reroute as much power to your propulsion and shields as you can. Get as far away from it as you can and then put everything into your shields," Icheb ordered hastily and turned to Lieutenant Williams, ordering the same. The fleet swarmed out of the way and once they got far enough away, quickly set out to diverting all of their reservations to their shields, some forced to use life-support. They watched as the rupture distorted the massive ship, ripping to pieces as it collapsed in on itself.

Soon its implosion was so severe that it ceased to register on their screens. As it disappeared from existence, pulling in probes and spheres along with it, the singularity began to violently collapse. "Brace yourselves!" Icheb ordered the fleet, sitting quickly and clutching the seat. Suddenly the singularity exploded into a massive shockwave, sending the feedback to hurtle toward the ships, forcing them to roll several miles and take expected kinetic damage.

Fortunately, this time, though very heavily damaged, no ship was lost and the fleet reorganized, facing the still open Delta Quadrant wormhole once again. The formidable command ship and its probes and spheres were nowhere to be seen. The fleet channel suddenly burst into activity, cheering at their victory. Icheb, slumped over on his seat, his head falling into his hands. "Icheb? Why are you so upset?" Tom asked in a raspy voice next to him, having allowed Flores to take the piloting seat again.

"I failed to keep a lot of the fleet alive," the young Captain muttered morosely. "I could have wiped us all out with that subspace rupture..."

"Be that as it may, Captain, your quick thinking and solution, while as irrationally planned as any idea I have ever heard from any Captain I have served under, worked and had positive results," Tuvok interjected, hoping to appeal to the former drone's rationality.

"Maybe..." Icheb sighed, taking a shuddering breath before standing again. "Ensign, while we have the chance, maneuver us toward the main cluster of the fleet. We should at least offer aid to those we can before it gets bad again."

"It's... not over, is it, sir?" Flores asked the Captain in a shaky voice.

Icheb looked over at his frightened helmsman, not too much older than he had been, years ago on the old Voyager. "I'm afraid not, Ensign," he said softly, shaking his head slowly, ignoring the painful ringing in his ears. He still heard the continuous whispering of the hive mind trying to reach him, the horrifying images of death and assimilation of his past taunting him mercilessly.

No, this was most definitely not over yet.

Back at the Delta Quadrant, the Borg Queen raged over the loss of her command ship. The epitome of her perfection had been dispatched in a defeat she had to admit was chaotically brilliant. Even so, she would not lose again to them!

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** I didn't intend on updating this so quickly, but I got excited to share it lol! I couldn't pass up using the Borg stuff from Star Trek Online, despite the command ship looking like an octopus shaped phallus. The Queen has issues, I swear. One of my favorite things to do in that game is the massive battles with a fleet of other ships helping you. And of course fighting Unimatrix 0047! I hadn't actually planned on writing this chapter, but I figured an extension of sexy space battles would only enhance the story! This chapter influenced by "Breathe" and "Narayan" by The Prodigy.

Shout-Outs

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you! I wanted to make sure the point was that the Borg were scary as hell and Icheb had suffered a lot in his past due to them. I think anyone who faced them would suffer the same. Picard frequently had nightmares, after all. I hope I get that across.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

* * *

The battle was not yet over, the fleet knew this, and they were vigilantly waiting more threats to arrive at any second, their eyes trained on the wormhole anxiously. Many of the Captains had been resentful for not being asked to be fleet commander, some having resented Icheb Hansen. A Lieutenant Commander, promoted to acting Captain and then fleet commander? At his age and his lack of experience? A lot of them had been outraged, most ordered to deal with it and get on with their orders.

But now? That green, wet behind the ears Captain had coordinated them into a winning form. He had done everything he could think of in defeating their most feared enemy, and had succeeded in making an impression on both the battlefield and on those who had thought scornfully of him. Icheb Hansen's career might have been aberrant, might have ruffled a lot of feathers, but his actions so far had been on par with everything expected of him.

Even so, the fleet was tense, the chatter to a minimum. How long had they been fighting for so far? Hours? Days? It felt like an eternity, but they had no time to check how long they had been endlessly engaging the Borg, too wrapped up with preparing for the next attack, offering aid to those who needed it the most, coping with the loss of family, friends, and comrades in arms. All was silent for the moment. They took advantage to repair what they could, split the crews up, balance ships out to offer more aid. They fleet worked together, coordinating relief wherever possible.

Icheb raked his hand through his hair, feeling the pulsing beat of the battle raging in his ears still. He needed to get a grip, needed to hang on, just a little longer... then he could crack if he wanted to. He opened a channel between Astrometrics and main Engineering, hoping for some good news, but knowing he wouldn't be getting any. "Hansen to Astrometrics... wormhole readings?" Icheb asked tiredly. He noticed then a few of the more injured officers on the bridge struggling with their stations and went over to offer them assistance.

"We're ready to try the feedback pulse again, we think the disruption will be long enough for us to get a clear picture of the Queen's forces," Lieutenant Jeremiah answered, offering aid to Naomi as she continued to struggle to stay on her feet.

"B'elanna, did you get that?" Icheb questioned, seeing her come on screen at the Engineering station. She looked about as tired as he felt.

B'elanna leveled him with a look of determination. "Yes, Captain, I'm sorry, just a sec," she answered, stepping away a moment to help one of her injured staff members lay against a far wall for support. She wiped the grime from her cheeks and made her way back to the appropriate console, placing in the commands needed. "We're ready to send the signal."

"Engage it," the young Captain ordered softly, too weary to put in more enthusiasm in his command as he stepped away from the console. He smiled and nodded in thanks when Kathryn placed a supportive hand on his arm as he made his way back to his seat.

The pulse went out and they held their breaths, hoping the Borg hadn't adapted to it just yet. Fortunately it didn't appear so and soon they were receiving sensor reading from the other side. "Two Borg cubes headed through, sir," Jeremiah announced from Astrometrics. Naomi had given up doing any of the heavy actions associated with frantically keeping up with the Borg signal blockage. Instead, she hung back and assisted Jeremiah, plugging in her input and rapidly refining skills where she could.

"Hansen to all units, two cubes detected coming through the wormhole. Prepare to engage," Icheb reported, nodding to Tuvok, conveying his meaning to attack at will. "Ensign, get is closer to the Defiant," he ordered, having noticed it's shields fail them a few times. Voyager rushed over, stationing right above the smaller ship, ready to defend it. Sisko tried to hail them, but their communications were down. Instead, they registered signals with the ship's lights, thanking them for the support.

The two cubes then made their appearance, holding position by the mouth of the singularity, but aside from scanning the fleet and the damaged vessels around, they did very little. "What are they waiting for?" Harry murmured in question. It didn't really matter though, the fleet wasted no time wondering why the cubes hadn't attacked, but instead took advantage of the situation. The cubes were very quickly and gleefully destroyed by the sheer ferocity, greater numbers, and advanced weaponry of the fleet.

Just before the final cube was eliminated though, it sent a feedback pulse through Voyager's phaser beam, striking the ship directly, the surge crawling its way up to the bridge. The energy surge spiraled through the consoles, as though seeking something, and then drove straight toward Icheb, striking his ocular implant as though attracted to it. Icheb cried out in pain, his body seizing from the electrocution and then he promptly collapsed to the floor.

"Icheb!" the older officers cried in alarm as their close friend and Captain lay unmoving on the ground. The former Captain of the ship watched worriedly from where she rested, after having collided with the railing during the chaos. She watched as Tom rushed, crawling over to his young friend's prone form, turning him over and checking his vitals. Icheb lay completely still, the web-like discharge dissipating for the most part, a lot of it clinging to his ocular implant for a moment longer. Even so, his eyes were shut and his complexion had lost most of the color he had left on his cheeks.

"Tom?" Kathryn questioned, hoping the former insecure boy turned starship Captain hadn't lost the fight to a simple, damn energy surge.

"He's alive but..." Tom trailed off, trying to shake his Captain awake lightly. "Icheb? Captain?" the Commander tried, but couldn't wake him.

Around them, Tuvok stood ready to call in a medical emergency while Harry stepped from his station to look down at them worriedly. Kathryn clenched her fists tightly, gazing over at the what could possibly be the closest thing she had to a grandson with apprehension. Part of her was worried that he wouldn't make it through the war, but that part was trumped by the part that simply wanted to see her figurative, surrogate grandson pull through and become one of the greatest Captains in Starfleet. High hopes, but she thought it was possible. Honestly though, she just wanted him to be okay.

Helmsmans Ensign Ellen Flores went from eyeing the wormhole warily to looking over at the tense situation in great concern. Engineering Officer Lieutenant Marcus Williams and Science Officer Ensign Gina Aida stood silently by their consoles, ready at a moments notice to offer aid. They had all come to respect their new Captain's intelligence, competency, and decisive commands, despite his own personal feelings over himself. So far he was turning into a worthy leader, to them at least, and felt troubled by the recently increasing stress clinging to him. They were aware how unusual his Captaincy was, that he was one of the youngest Captains in Starfleet, rivaling James T. Kirk, but that hadn't ever crossed their minds when they agreed to go on the mission. They were honored to serve with someone as unusual and unorthodox in his career as the former Borg, Icheb Hansen.

The security and tactical chief had seen enough, had been holding off long enough and knew it was time to get their Captain help. "Tuvok to Sick-"

"-Wait," Tom lifted his hand toward Tuvok, halting his actions when the young Brunali stirred. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Icheb groaned in pain, struggling to open his eyes. "You alright?" Tom asked carefully reaching for him when Icheb attempted to get up. He looked a little worse for wear, but aside from the shock, he seemed fine.

Icheb accepted Tom's help, latching on to the older man's forearm. Both men groaned in pain as they got to their feet. "I... I am undamaged," he assured them, straightening his uniform and assessing any internal damages.

"We should still get the doctor up here to make sure," Tom suggested, stepping back from him.

Icheb rubbed his aching head. "No, really, I feel fine," he insisted, not wanting to cause more trouble. Anyway, he _seemed_ to be in working order, he didn't _feel_ anything unusual. He felt a bit of residual pain from the shock and collapse, but otherwise he seemed fine. But then... something _was_ off. Icheb frowned in confusion when he heard a whisper in his head, very faint, and he almost thought it was his imagination for a second as it seemed to flitter away when he tried to examine it closer.

"What do you think they were doing?" Harry asked curiously, interrupting Icheb's examination of his mental faculties.

Icheb looked over at him and thought about it for a second. "I believe those were scouts. The Queen must have been evaluating our strengths and weaknesses," he answered, a deep frown marring his face. If the Queen was sending two cubes just as scouts, that could only mean she had bigger and badder resources at her disposal. Just how many of them were there though?

"Maybe her majesty just ran out of ideas!" Lieutenant Williams joked weakly, glancing over to the screen tensely.

Ensign Aida sent the young Engineering officer an annoyed look, wondering if that was going to bring bad luck on them now. Being of Japanese descendent, Gina Aida, or Aida Gina as was properly said way back when, had an understanding of Yin and Yang and knew that the universe always balanced itself out... even however small this victory had been. She might have been exaggerating, might have been seeing a pattern where there was none, just her nerves playing tricks on her, but she still wished people wouldn't joke like that during tense situations.

Icheb sat in his seat, his arms folded over his lap as he leaned forward, staring tensely at the screen. No, the Queen had not run out of ideas, she was just biding her time. Icheb knew a big part of her tactics, when she didn't just send a single cube, when she attacked personally, was psychological warfare, intimidation, disorientation, and demoralization. The strange whispering was very noticeable in his head now, distorted, almost inviting, but he still couldn't reach it, examine it. It was as though there was a coded transmission flowing directly through his head, trying to tap into his synapses, into his implants. Fear tingled up his spine, was he going insane? Or was the Queen trying to reach him? Had he been compromised? It seemed the Queen's tactics were working... Icheb folded his hands, supported by his elbows over his legs, and rested his chin on them, still very intent on the spiraling wormhole on the screen. How long would she make them wait? Doubt themselves?

A soft voice interrupted his morbid thoughts. "Sir?"

Icheb looked over to the frightened helmsman, doing everything she could to keep it together. "Yes, Ensign Flores?" he asked, his tone as calm as he could get it.

"We've reached the rest of the fleet," she told him just as quietly. "We're holding position next to the Challenger."

"Thank you," Icheb nodded and ordered to get visual on the rest of the fleet. Seeing them come on screen, they all grimaced as they took note of their condition.

The fleet was holding position in a flanking patters on either spectrum of the wormhole, all of them pointed toward the singularity. Some of the ships looked fine, a few scorch marks and scratches over the 'paint jobs', but otherwise in working condition. Some appeared to be missing half or more of their ablative armor, but fine. The others however, some were missing entire decks, the charred outlines visible as forcefields kept the vacuum of space from draining them completely. Some of the ships were missing a nacelle, some visibly still smoking, mangled and scarred. It looked bad, they were in rough shape and nearly half were dead in space, floating some ways away. How much more could they take?

"Activity from the wormhole, sir!" Flores pointed at the screen in a panic. They looked back over to the singularity and saw it fluctuating, a clear sign something was coming through.

"Sensors?" Tom asked, looking to Tuvok.

The Vulcan tactical officer reviewed the ship's scanners, courtesy of telemetry from Astrometrics. "Readings indicate cube configurations," he answered swiftly.

"How many?" Icheb questioned.

"Ten. However, they appear to be..." Tuvok trailed off, his eyebrow hiking up.

Never a good sign.

"Commander?" Icheb prompted curiously, trying to keep the stress from filtering into his tone again.

Tuvok looked up then. "The dimensions are consistent with Borg cubes, however, it is difficult to register their exact configuration." he told him.

"Does it matter what their configurations are? They're cubes, we can handle cubes, right?" Tom asked.

"Not _those_ cubes!" Harry muttered, eyes wide at the appearing enemy. They all looked over and saw ten heavily armored, much larger cubes come through. While some of the crew on Voyager found them frighteningly familiar, the rest of the fleet looked on in shock, never having seen cubes like that before. They were twice as large as a normal cube, and had extra added hull plating, making them appear more solid.

"...Tactical cubes..." Icheb groaned, staring at the screen in dread. The information he had on them was limited, including the knowledge he had of the one Voyager had encountered years ago. The bit he did know was that they were five times as destructive and difficult to deal with than normal cubes. On board the cubes were scores of elite tactical drones, tasked to wipe out the most difficult to deal with civilizations. They were massive, mostly entirely mechanical, and ruthlessly powerful, picked personally by the Queen. If they managed to capture one of their ships and board it, Icheb feared not even their modulating weapons would be able to withstand them.

"Hansen to all ships. Those are Tactical Cubes. Voyager has encountered one once before. Do _not_ underestimate them. Keep visual contact with them at all times. Do not let them get too close. Increase shield frequency rotation and _stick together_. Share shields if you have to." Icheb then coordinated with the original Voyager crew on what they knew about then, and then with the other Admirals, relaying the information.

They decided to split the fleet into groups of five, each group handling a cube with the least damaged of the ships supporting the more damaged. The damaged ships were relegated to the back of the group, firing long range weapons while staying behind the ships with the most shielding. The faster ships of the group were tasked to circle around the cubes, laying mines when they could as they flew by while also serving as a distraction.

The cubes powered their weapons and began their attack, pulsing, powerful bolts, widespread, long-reaching, shooting at them in devastating frequency. Voyager shook with the intensity of the attack, one of the cubes heading directly for them, faster than any of the other cubes in the area. "This one seems to be gunning for us!" Tom blanched, his voice still rough from his earlier injury. The cube rolled onto them and it was everything Flores could do to keep it away from them, lead it away from the group.

"It appears to be trying to single us out," Tuvok informed them.

"The Queen must want us dead badly," Aida muttered to herself, though was heard by the Captain.

"Not us, _me_ ," Icheb murmured quietly, eyes fixed on the target, knowing the Queen must have found him somehow. The teams of ships circled around the cube, staying in formation as they fired quickly, modulating the frequency of their blasts on it to compensate for Borg adaption.

"Phasers have no effect, Captain," Tuvok told him, gripping his console as the ship took another hit. Sparks from the consoles around them sprayed the dark room, smoke still clinging to the ceiling being lit by them. "Our forward shields have failed," he said then.

"Reroute auxiliary power to shields," Icheb ordered, thinking hard. A normal cube was difficult enough to fight and they had few vulnerable spots... a tactical cube's hull was even greater to penetrate. "Status on Tetryon Cannons?"

"Operational, sir," Tuvok responded.

Icheb nodded, figuring it might work on tactical cubes at a high enough frequency. "Ensign Flores, initiate attack pattern omega-six. Williams, power the deflector plates but reroute shields to forward," he tapped his badge then. "B'elanna, I need more power to the cannons. I want them as high in energy as you can possibly get them. Reroute power from reserves if you need to."

"On it, Captain," B'elanna signaled her staff and went to the power relay console, siphoning as much power from the ship that she could.

The crew had to quickly grab on to something as the ship took another severe hit. "Forward shields down to thirty percent!" Harry mentioned in a panic.

Icheb turned back to his tactical officer. "Tuvok, target their shield generator, concentrate the cannon beams to puncture through their hull. As soon as you have an opening, fire two transphasic torpedoes into it. They have multi-regenerative shields, much like the command ship had, so you'll have to be quick," the former drone Captain ordered in a rush. The whispers in his head were becoming louder and Icheb feared he would not be able to ignore them soon.

"Aye, Captain." Each officer replied, setting off to work.

Voyager got into position while the tweaked lateral shielding plates powered on, boosting the ship's front shields. The cannons readied and then Tuvok fired them at the greatest opportunity. The intense blue beams of the cannons tore past the cube's shields, breaking into the hull. As soon as a big enough hole registered, Tuvok cut the cannon fire and sent off the torpedoes. The high-yield explosives shot into their target and they watched as the cube's inner compartments exploded.

Unfortunately, the structure of the cube was still intact and it continued to fire on them. From the other end of the cube, the rest of Voyager's group circled around, firing into the hole created by Voyager. The combined forces of the ships forced the cube to crumble and a direct hit to the central plexus caused a cascade. The resounding explosion of the cube shattered into space, throwing the nearby ships off.

"Damage report!" Tom questioned, remaining on the floor where he fell for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath.

"We have lost all ablative armor, and our over-all shields are down to twenty-three percent," Tuvok informed him. All things considered, the fact that they hadn't completely lost their shields hours before was a very good thing. It meant the upgrades to the shield matrix technology was working better than expected. Just a few years ago they would _not_ have been able to withstand so much enemy fire.

"Tom..." Harry wheezed, his eyes clouded over with pain where he clung onto his console. His old friend craned his neck, contorting in pain with the movement, but looked over anyway.

"Ensign Aida, take the Lieutenant-Commander to Sickbay," Tom rasped and watched his friend struggle to make it to the turbo-lift with the Ensign's help.

"Tuvok, what is the status of the fleet?" Kathryn asked.

"Each group is engaged in combat. The Enterprise is taking heavy fire, deflecting damage from more damaged vessels. The Defiant is out of commission but in one piece. The Titan is offering assistance to the Challenger. The Destiny is holding position next to Voyager. Our allies are giving supporting fire and protecting the inoperable ships." Tuvok explained how the fleets groups were being systematically whittled down by the tactical cubes, but another two cubes had been destroyed anyway. Kathryn suggested then to Icheb that the teams should regroup into bigger lances, concentrate fire on the remaining cubes. She frowned in concern when it took the young man a bit longer than it should have to respond to her.

"...Yes, you're right," Icheb finally said, and relayed the idea to the fleet.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Kathryn questioned.

"I'm fine I... I'm just..." Icheb grimaced in confusion, finding it exceedingly difficult to concentrate. "Forgive me, I seem to be- I can't-!" Icheb suddenly clenched his head, squeezing his eyes tightly as the whispers in his head turned into a roar. He moaned in pain, doubling over.

"Icheb?" Kathryn forced herself up and stepped around the railing, going over to kneel next to his seat. "What is it?"

"I hear... I can hear them... I can hear _her_..." Icheb gasped. Kathryn shivered fearfully, knowing who _she_ was. If _she_ was in his head...

" _Who is this? Who are you?"_ The Queen asked curiously, probing her connection. Icheb recoiled painfully. _"Hmm, what do we have her? Male in mental structure... species 2461..."_ Whoever he was, the Queen had the distinct impression that he had been a former drone that had not fully developed. A neonatal drone... wait, she remembered this one, he was an anomaly.

" _Yes, I remember you now. What is your designation?"_ Icheb held firm, refusing to answer her. _"Ah, I see, your designation was... first..? No, second... how appropriate, my little chaos bringer. You've been causing me quite a lot trouble. Why do you resist your perfection? Why do you insist on aiding lower life-forms? Come back to us, ….Icheb, is it now?"_ Icheb let out a rasping breath as desperately tried to keep her from his thoughts. "Stay... out of my _head_..." he whispered to himself harshly.

Kathryn watched him struggle with a deep sense of dread. "Icheb, resist her," she told him firmly.

The Queen smiled to herself, catching his hatred for her and deep fear he tried to hide. _"Such devastating thoughts inside you. Come, let me soothe those away."_ Icheb grimaced at the suggestion the Queen had sent him, seeing himself lose all will and feeling, repulsed by it. He would _never_ join them! He would never sully himself with innocent blood again!

The Queen smiled again, detecting his strong resistance to her. No matter, she would crack him, and she would have him. _"This was your home for many years. You were once a part of us, nurtured by us in the comfort of your maturation chamber. We can help you connect with us again. Come, join us, come back home..._ "

Icheb shook his head, trying to clear the voice but was unable to. "She's... too strong, Kate..." Icheb whispered to her fearfully.

"Resist her, Captain, that's an order," Kathryn growled.

Then the Queen picked up on something else inside his head, something that had troubled her for a time. _"You are sick, my dear Icheb... a virus? Come, let me fix you, let me make your transition easier this time. I can forgive you of your treachery."_ Icheb's eyes widened, she knew about his pathogen! But did she know how to fight it?

 _"You can hide little from me, chaos bringer, whatever it is you are keeping from me, I will find out. I will tear apart your neural network if I have to. Such a waste to a brilliant mind. You are talented, I can see that. Perhaps you could serve as a new Locutus? Together we would bring ultimate perfection to the collective..."_ Icheb held his hand to his head, trying desperately to block her. No! He would _not_ join her! He would rather become a mindless vegetable, rotting away, let all his _brilliance_ fizzle out of existence than let her use him!

" _It matters not, I could still use a drone with your talents anyway. You will make a fine drone indeed, such power, such anger, you would be among the elite."_ Icheb groaned, images of himself completely assimilated, barely any natural flesh left, wearing heavy armor and mercilessly tearing apart civilizations, rushing through his head at the Queen's hand. So much blood, so many screams, so much death... _"Such a fine specimen..."_

"Get out of my head you... _bitch_!" Icheb growled, hoping none of the others heard him. Surely they would think of him as going insane if they did. Putting all his mental braces he still had, he poured his negativity into a single thought. ' _NO!'_ In his mind he felt the mental link shudder and felt the Queen's anger at being repulsed.

The Queen redoubled her efforts and assaulted him with terrifyingly gruesome images. _"Very well, my lost little drone, if you won't come peacefully I will break you until you beg to rejoin us. If I have to destroy your mind to do it, so be it."_

"Captain, the tactical cubes are increasing their attacks!" Flores said in alarm, trying desperately to avoid being hit at the same time. The cubes tore through the fleet and it was everything they could do to keep up. Icheb looked up in despair, seeing the horribly dismal image flashing on the screen. His mind conjured horrible scenarios and Icheb did all he could to keep himself sane.

"Captain?" Tom questioned when his commanding officer had yet to issue any others.

Icheb clutched his head, gasping for breath as image after image flooded his thoughts, making tears spring into his eyes. "She's... the Queen is in my head! I can't... I can't stop her!" The senior officers stared at him in shock, seeing him lose his mental control, shaking with the effort just to keep from crumbling over his own weight. Whatever this battle and the Queen was doing to him, was torturing him profoundly.

"Don't let that bitch get to you, Icheb," Tom Paris yelled through his ruined throat, trying to get through to his suffering friend and Captain. "You're stronger than she thinks you are!"

Icheb twisted forward in agony, his head still clutched in his hands as the Queen relentlessly sent him disturbing images. "I... I don't know if I can..." he repeated, his tearful eyes shutting tight again, trying desperately to stop from crying in pain, in horror, in anguish. Icheb knew in the back of his head somewhere that the Queen was mentally raping him in an effort to break apart the fleet.

The Queen hissed in his ear. _"I will assimilate everyone you hold dear, one by one. Starting with... this one..."_

Icheb then had a flash of Naomi being savagely tortured endlessly, brutally, seemingly without order, just for the pleasure of hearing her scream. He then saw himself as her tormenter, doing abominable things to her, rending her to pieces and enjoying it. Icheb howled in agony at the sight, but still they persisted. He saw her assimilated by him, and made to do the same to all of their friends. He recoiled violently. " _No_!" Icheb screamed, not aware he was being watched with intense worry by his friends and his subordinates.

"Icheb!" Kathryn yelled, trying to reach him. She tried to place her hand on his arm, try to soothe him, but he jerked away from her. Icheb lurched forward, falling to his knees as the Queen sent him ceaseless images of grisly, bloody torture, going past assimilation and simply using psychological torment to compromise his sanity. Sounds of screams, Naomi's screams, mixing in with Borg chatter, filling his abused mind.

Still the fleet persisted. Still they remained orderly, carrying out their last commands and fighting hard. It didn't seem like it was working as planned. The Queen knew that at this point, she would lose with or without their fleet commander to guide them. She had run out of options. _"Very well... you want your end to come poetically? I can do that for you,"_ she whispered in an almost gentle way.

"Sir! They're... the cubes..." Harry blinked at what he was registering on his sensor sweep. "I think she's sacrificing her cubes."

"On screen," Kathryn ordered for their still incapacitated Captain. They watched as many of the armored tactical cubes began flying toward clusters of their ships at ramming speed. Most of the cubes had very dense armor, so might survive the collisions... but their ships?

" _You will fail, my damaged little drone... you will lose everything you worked so hard for and your whole universe will fall into my hands."_

Icheb saw Brunali Prime being systematically assimilated, followed by every allied world they had come across, until she made it to sector 001 and began assimilating Federation planets. The last images he got were of Ktaris and Earth. Every compulsion in his body screamed for him to react. He could hear Naomi screaming for him, screaming for his help and it spurred a deeply seeded hatred for the collective that surge through him.

The Queen's attempts had backfired.

Unable to take it anymore, Icheb shot to his feet, almost knocking Kathryn Janeway over, his reddened eyes twitching from the excessive effort to keep his mind focused. From the corner of his eye, past the muggy cluttered ache of his failing mental capacity, he saw a sphere some distance away, hidden behind the cubes. _She was there!_ How long had she been amongst them?! "...Hansen to all ships. Concentrate fire on the _Queen's sphere_!" he ordered the fleet abruptly and told them where exactly she was.

The Queen had called him chaos bringer... well then, he would live up to his name! In the vestigial part of his mind, that wasn't completely rendered inept by the Queen's influence, his knowledge over the complexities of the collective spurred to life. He understood that without the Queen, without the one giving them their orders, bringing order in general to the _chaos_ that was their hive, they would fall into confusion and disorientation. "Destroy the sphere! _Destroy her_! The Borg will fall into disorder without her, so _break_ her _order_!" he commanded viciously through clenched teeth.

The forces had managed to destroy another three cubes so they only had to look out for the remaining four. Eight of the most fit for battle ships remained behind some to redirect the fire from the cubes, holding them off so the rest of the fleet could charge the Queen. The Queen realized she had been spotted then and ordered her cubes to regroup and defend her. The cubes ignored the weapons fire from the eight ships and barreled past them. Tom crawled over to Flores and the Ensign immediately relinquished her station, letting the Commander take over. Voyager charged in, swooping over many of the other ships.

"Lieutenant, get the chief to give us more shields," Tom ordered.

"Aye," the Lieutenant agreed and spoke to the chief Engineer, hoping he could appeal to the half Klingon's rational side.

The other eight ships regrouped and followed the cubes, rushing over to block their paths. The Enterprise shot continued turret fire, their energy reserves quickly depleting and the tension from the excessive use burning out relays. Still they fought on, grasping at whatever they could to defend their comrades. Most of the ships were using life-support to power their weapons and shields now, desperate to bring hell down on the Queen. The Queen viciously tore apart a nearby drone, angered by her quickly approaching defeat. Giving word, she forced the tactical cubes to turn and attempt to ram into the remaining fleet.

The Queen's attention slipped from Icheb's mind then, allowing him a breath of fresh air. He quickly shot to focus then on scrutinizing the battle. "All ships. Avoid the cubes but concentrate fire on that sphere!" Icheb snarled, his hand shooting to brace himself on the back of his chair as the ship brutally rocked again. The fleet swarmed in, using everything they had. Icheb heard her scream in rage in his head but was too distracted by the glorious sight of the sphere detonating into a brilliant green spectacle to bother registering it. "Finish off the cubes while they are distracted!" Icheb ordered.

Without their Queen to lead them, the remaining cubes seemed to pause for a moment, unsure of what to do without orders, disorientated just as Icheb had predicted. The fleet poured into the cubes, firing their strongest weapons. It must have taken two hours, but the cubes were finally destroyed. They had done it! The Queen was once again removed and the remaining cubes dispatched! Voyager quickly scanned the wormhole, but found no further trace of Borg. Icheb felt darkness surround him then, the last thing he felt was his body slumping into his seat, and the last thing he heard was the worried voices of his friends.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** I'm aware that in the last episode of Voyager, they had destroyed several cubes with just a few transphasic torpedoes, but I thought that was unrealistic and boring lol. I hope no one minded the increased difficulty fighting them here! Chapter influenced by the atmospheric music "Time" by Hans Zimmer from the _Inception_ soundtrack.

Be warned, I don't have my other chapters finished like I had so far, one or two in reserve, "real life" kept me away from writing, so it might be a few days before I update! Possibly early next week, Monday or Tuesday. Who knows, maybe much sooner! Your input on the story so far will keep me encouraged :)

Shout Out

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** One of the main things I tried to bring across was the fear associated with the Borg and how Icheb isn't immune to it. I hope I did that well! Of course I would have DS9 references! The Queen is a bitch lol.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

" _There is no stairway to the light. There is no answer, heaven knows. Will there be music left to write? In my fantasy, black rose." - Lori Yates, Black Rose_

* * *

The soft familiar hum of the machines in Sickbay was the first thing to register in Icheb's battered and abused mind. Straining to wake himself, he heard the disembodied voices of his friends around him, speaking quietly to each other, worry very clear in their tone. "I think he's coming to," Icheb heard Tom's voice, absent of the gruff from his previous injury.

Icheb very carefully opened his eyes, wincing at the sting from the overhead light for a second, and peered around himself, seeing all of his friends surrounding him. None of them looked like they had ever seen a battle, their uniforms neat and clean and they looked as healthy as ever. How long had he been out of it?

"How... long?" Icheb questioned, trying to get past the sedatives he had been under, unable to speak clearly.

"Three days," the doctor told him softly from somewhere at his left side.

"Three..?" Icheb coughed, trying to sit up, but most of the people closest to him reached over, laid a hand on him, gently pushing him back down. Icheb blinked with difficulty and looked at them closely, seeing the concerned and affectionate expressions on all of them, each lending him support. Icheb felt as though his heart couldn't swell any further. Swallowing the embarrassing amount of emotions from his throat, he allowed them to care for him and let himself lay back down, unable to stop the sentiments from misting his eyes. Icheb felt more than accepted in that moment, he felt as though he was truly part of their 'family' and they each loved him like one of their own.

Kathryn smiled warmly and reached over to caress her fingers through his hair fondly. "It's okay, Icheb. The fleet is on its way to recovery and we are aiding those we can. The crew from the Phoenix is still aboard, but we're looking to getting transport ships brought over as soon as we can."

"Why three days?" Icheb questioned, rubbing his head of the dull ache. "How... damaged am I?" he asked, wincing at the wording for the first time. Damaged indeed.

"You've suffered extensive damage to your cranial implants, as well as your mind, I'm afraid. However, Mr. Tuvok lent a hand in that regard," the doctor smiled cheerfully. "It took over half a day, but he managed to fix the harm to your neural pathways and reconnect fragmented engrams."

Icheb looked over to find Tuvok standing near his right side and smiled tentatively at him. "Thank you... Tuvok. How..?"

Tuvok understood his question and answered as simply as he could, so that his injured Captain would not have to process too much information. "While I was with my family on Vulcan, I took to studying the art of mind melding to a greater degree. I learned from the masters how to heal damaged synapses and with the knowledge I had attained, I was able to offer my skills to the doctor," the Vulcan tactical officer explained. "I hope you forgive me for the violation into your privacy. In order to properly mend your mind, I had to look into your personal thoughts and experiences."

"You have nothing to... apologize for, Tuvok. Thank you for... doing that for me. I hope..." Icheb trailed off, cringing at the idea of anyone else experiencing the horrors he had during the battle.

Once again, Tuvok picked up on what he was feeling. Perhaps it was due to their mental connection for the better part of a day, perhaps it was because Tuvok had been forced to relive the gruesome events of Icheb's life, for whatever reason it was, he seemed to understand the young Brunali far more than he had in the past. "What you have experienced, Icheb, will take more than what I have done for you at the moment to heal. However, if you need someone to talk to about what you have been through, I offer you my assistance," Tuvok said as gently as a Vulcan could.

Icheb didn't know what to say, extremely touched by the older man's generous offer. But Tuvok saw the look in his eyes and nodded in understanding. After taking a few more moments to collect himself, Icheb turned to where Kathryn and Tom stood. "Voyager..?"

"Under repairs. The fleet is holding still to clean and help repair other ships before we head home. Some of the more damaged ships can't be moved safely yet," Tom explained. "You did well, Captain." he added softly, laying a hand over his shoulder again. "It would have been a lot worse without your direction."

Icheb felt a lump of dismal emotion in his throat, not letting him speak. How could he say that? They had suffered such casualties... so many of their allies, so many ships had been destroyed. But then, looking around him at that moment, he saw the looks of agreement from the others. "But..." he tried to protest feebly, but was interrupted by Kathryn's insistence.

"Think of it this way, if it hadn't been for you, Seven, and the accumulated knowledge on how to fight the Borg, if it hadn't been for your quick thinking and organizing of the fleet, we would have lost to a single cube. We lasted against twenty five cubes, a command ship _and_ the Queen herself. Despite how you may feel about yourself, you have saved countless lives," Kathryn told him firmly. "I couldn't be more proud of you. I couldn't be more sure that you are the Captain Voyager deserves." Around her, the original crew of Voyager murmured their agreement.

Icheb shut his eyes, trying to stop the tears from trailing down his cheeks, desperately trying to keep himself from crying in front of them, embarrassed by the uncontrolled level of emotion they had inspired within him since waking up. All he ever wanted to do was help his friends, the family he had made aboard Voyager. It hadn't ever really been about serving on the bridge, it had been about so much more. He had wanted to help them find their home, wanted to help defend them. They had taken him into their arms, guided him, nurtured him, supported him. He had thought his heart had been too full a little bit ago, how wrong he was. "I'm... I-I'm sorry for concerning all of you," he told them hoarsely.

"Don't be, buddy," Tom grinned down at him with the affection of an older brother. "That's what family is for, after all."

"We'll handle the clean up from here, you just be sure to rest and recover, alright? That's an order, Captain," Kathryn squeezed his arm fondly. Icheb wanted to be of more use, but knew he wouldn't be able to argue with any of them, lower in their ranks or not. So he smiled weakly and reluctantly nodded in agreement. As they filtered out of the room, he spotted Naomi some ways back and his heart raced like never before.

Naomi had been watching from her perch on her medical bed, still recovering from her own injuries, though she was doing a lot better now. Since hearing of Icheb's collapse, she had taken every opportunity she could to go to Sickbay, claiming to her supervisor that she was going in for physical therapy. Since the staff was aware of their relationship and promised to keep it to themselves, they did not stop her from seeing him. Naomi had been a nervous wreck at first, seeing Tuvok mind-meld with him had been almost too much to take. How much mental torment had Icheb gone through? She hadn't known he was suffering until the doctor gently explained it to her. Her heart had cried out to him, the part of her soul that belonged to him torn to shreds over his suffering.

Now it was everything Naomi could do to keep from shouting with glee that he was awake and seemed well. She had wanted to be there by his side with the rest of them, but she waited, knowing it wouldn't be appropriate and frankly had loved seeing the happy family welcoming their brother back to the living. So she watched patiently with a fond grin as they fawned over him, let them each have their turn with him. When they left, Naomi slipped off her bed and walked over to him, standing by his side. "Icheb," she sighed in relief, her eyes softening over him.

"Naomi Wildman," Icheb greeted her weakly, his own eyes swirling with an array of deep emotions.

Naomi could see a hint of grief from his guilt, his shame over the casualties of war, she could see his fear toward his own mental state, fear that he had nearly lost himself, and she could see passion plainly as his eyes searched hers, longing very close following it. She smiled tenderly and leaned down, molding her eager lips to his soft, inviting mouth, holding his cheeks as she expressed all of her worry, fear, and love for him into it. It was not a kiss of passion, nor promise, it was a kiss of reconnecting, of restoration. Naomi could feel him shaking, knew he was trying to keep himself together. She wiped a tear from his cheek with her thumb, sending him as much comfort as she presently could.

Naomi pulled away from the kiss then, resisting her impulse to continue, knowing she couldn't stay much longer. "I have to go back to work," she whispered against him, begging her heart to still, to not become overwhelmed with the need to take him in her arms and never let him go.

"I understand," Icheb murmured back, his hand having released her hair of its neat bun, tangling his fingers into her silky tresses. Remembering his deep fear of losing her, his agony over the thought of what the Borg could do to her, compelled his hand to pull her closer, resting his cheek against hers, nuzzling her lovingly, the closest they could get to touching foreheads. "I _love you_ , Naomi Wildman," he whispered fiercely, pulling away slightly again so his eyes could bore into hers with profound meaning.

Naomi knew what he was trying to convey, could easily read his frayed emotions and could feel her eyes stinging in response. "My heart is yours, Icheb," she answered back just as ardently. "It waits for you to get better very eagerly," she whispered reverently, her tone holding promise. "Rest now, my Captain, we'll see each other again," she said then, and leaned over, kissing the implant over his eye very gingerly. Icheb closed his eyes, feeling mixed emotions over her tender care for his wretched Borg mutilation, but then felt her lips touch his feather lightly, her fingers ghosting down his cheeks. When he opened them though, he only saw her retreating form walking out of Sickbay, so he closed them again and willed himself to sleep peacefully.

For a few days now, Voyager helped the rest of the fleet clean up and gather the bodies of their fallen comrades, floating in space some ways from their wrecked ships. It was a gruesome, grueling task, but it had to be done. Once the way was cleared enough, Voyager reignited the Wormhole, scanning it closely. The ignition and telemetry from the Delta Quadrant was once again a success and clear of enemy activity. They sighed collectively in relief. There was still a lot to do, a lot of repairs to be made before they could all return home.

Icheb had stayed another full day in Sickbay to recover further, but he could not keep himself away any more. He found himself in his ready-room with Tom and Kathryn after reporting the mission and battle success to them, awaiting their response. Tom and Kathryn spoke mostly, relating what they should or shouldn't do to help the fleet, the situation from the crew of the Phoenix, and the moral state of the crew. Icheb listened and gave them his opinion, but was otherwise distracted and solemn.

"We're receiving a hail from Starfleet Command sir, should I send it there?" Harry asked over the com.

"Yes, thank you. I would appreciate that, Harry," Icheb answered quietly.

In seconds, Icheb was greeted by the aging face of Admiral Chekov Pavel. The very old admiral regarded the youth before him critically, remaining quiet for a bit. Icheb was honored to be getting a call from such a decorated officer, not to mention one that had served under James Kirk himself. If it weren't for the positively dismal circumstances, gathering the bodies of their allies, fixing debilitated ships, and dealing with his own inner demons, he would have been positively giddy. "Admiral Chekov," Icheb greeted as calmly as he could, trying to ignore the knowing look from Kathryn. Janeway had known of Icheb's admiration for the crew of the original Enterprise for years now and found his tempered excitement slightly amusing.

"The Federation owes you their lives, Captain," Chekov said simply, his thick accent colored with admiration for him.

Icheb shifted in embarrassment, detecting the tone. "I was simply preforming my duty, sir," he said in humility.

Chekov smiled indulgently at him and nodded in understanding. "Your report and actions during this time of crisis have been regarded very highly by the council. Whether or not it was simply your duty, you have earned the respect of many in the Federation, including myself."

Icheb was speechless for a second. "Thank you, sir..." he answered, still not feeling like he deserved such high praise from so many of the higher echelon. "What are my orders, sir?"

"For now, continue doing what you're doing. A lot of those ships, those crew need as much support as they can. Once the fleet returns, Starfleet is planning to host a celebration in Deep Space Nine in honor of the defeat of their most feared enemy, the safety of their system, and remembrance of those who died heroes. It will be held one week after the funerals for our fallen comrades. I expect to see you there, Captain."

"Of course, sir," Icheb accepted without hesitation.

"Good," Chekov nodded in approval. "Admiral Janeway," Chekov turned to his colleague. "I look forward to having that chess rematch with you."

Kathryn grinned and inclined her head. "Of course, Pavel, I still need to pay you back for that dirty tactic you pulled."

Chekov scoffed good-naturedly. "If you think that was dirty, you should try playing with Scotty some time." Kathryn gave him a friendly smile. "I look forward to seeing all of you when you return," Chekov nodded to them before ending the call. The three returned to the bridge and continued to offer aid to those they could.

A few hours later, Icheb received a call from the doctor to see him in Sickbay. Icheb dutifully made his way down, knowing the doctor was concerned about his mental stability. Honestly, he was as well. When he made it there, the usual staff was not there, most likely asked to leave so he and the doctor could have privacy. "Doctor?" Icheb called.

"I'm in here," the doctor called him into his office. Icheb went in and sat at the seat in front of his desk, feeling like he was about to be interrogated. The doctor turned from his work and leveled him with a thoughtful look. "Icheb, I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to talk to me about what happened to you?"

"I nearly lost my mind," Icheb revealed softly, unable to properly look at him.

"Will you tell me about it?" the doctor asked softly.

Icheb thought about it. Would the doctor think of him differently if he knew how badly he thought of himself? No, he decided he knew the doctor well enough to know he'd never judge him or think less of him. He could trust the doctor, always had. The doctor had been the closest thing he had to a father, after all. So Icheb told him how he was feeling, told him how close he had come to a total mental break down how he felt guilt for the casualties, how he worried over his friends.

The doctor listened closely, nodding appropriately and jotting down notes. When Icheb was finished with his tale, Greg reviewed his notes and sighed in concern, quiet for a moment. "Guilt and worry is perfectly natural during a conflict of that magnitude, you shouldn't let that get to you," he began.

"I know..." Icheb muttered wearily.

"Everything you've described to me so far, ever symptom you have had throughout the Borg conflict, leads me to believe you have developed psychosomatic characteristics. Aside from the unusual mental stress and traumatic childhood memories, have you been experiencing difficulty concentrating? Have you had any auditory or visual hallucinations recently?" Greg Zimmerman asked carefully. If Icheb had become psychosomatic, it would mean he would have to employ post traumatic stress methods in aiding him. The stress levels associated with people this level of psychosomatisism could be serious and if left untreated it could cripple him.

Icheb wanted to deny it, wanted desperately to just go to sleep and try to push all of this from his mind. Better yet, he wanted Naomi in his arms, wanted to lose himself in her, delve into her love and escape his tortured mind. However, contrary to the mistakes he had made in the past, he wasn't an idiot, and knew he needed help. "...Yes, doctor," he reluctantly replied truthfully.

"Which symptom?" the doctor frowned in worry.

"All of them," Icheb shrugged and leaned forward in his seat, running a hand through his hair in agitation. "The... flashes of memories in my mind of my assimilation I have been having since this all started," he admitted. "But I have also seen the crew... Naomi... being assimilated. The destruction of the fleet. The fall of the Federation. The entire galaxy turning into one enormous collective all controlled by the Queen. I... _know_ they were images sent by her. Psychological warfare is a common practice for the Borg; weaken the enemy, make them distracted, weaken their response time...easier to assimilate them that way," he shuddered in distress. "I am... I guess I am not immune to it."

"I have a few methods that may aid you in dealing with this. The first I recommend is Vulcan neurological pressure point treatment. As I hear it, their methods in dealing with psychological trauma is unrivaled within the Federation. If Tuvok is unwilling, I believe I may have just the medical holodeck program to aid you just in case," the doctor smiled, walking over to the large utility workbench along his office wall. "Ah, here you go," he handed him the program. "You'll find the masseur at least a fair bit more attractive than the Lieutenant Commander," Greg grinned.

Icheb tried not to roll his eyes and nodded instead to him in thanks. "Thank you doctor,"

"In addition, I would like you to see me regularly. If not aboard Voyager, then I will make personal house-calls if I need to. You may experience negative effects from your condition before the end. What happened to you will not be easily mended... but with enough time and persistence that I _know_ you are capable of, you _will_ triumph over this. I am _sure_ of it," the doctor smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Greg..." Icheb smiled weakly, eternally grateful to the caring hologram. In a way, the doctor was more of an affectionate father figure to Icheb than anyone else had ever been.

Days went by with steady progress on the fleet. Icheb had undergone a week of treatment and it had shown very promising results almost immediately. At first he had woken with horrible nightmares, but through persistent treatment and visits to the doctor, they had faded away. Since starting his treatment though, despite how awkward it had gotten at a few points, Icheb had been exhausted most nights, and to his and Naomi's frustration, they hadn't had the chance to spend much time with each other. They had run into each other on occasion, but each time they had not been alone and the tension had steadily risen.

Still, they had a lot of repair work to help with, along with helping to clear up the battlefield and offer assistance to waylaid crew without ships. The result in the doubled amount of people on the ship from the Phoenix meant that the crew had to share quarters. It also meant that Icheb and Naomi could not pursue their relationship even if they had wanted to.

Finally, after a week of clean up, repairs to ships who couldn't be towed back, and passenger transport duty, Voyager and the rest of the fleet finally returned home. Voyager, instrumental in the defeat of the Borg, was once again hailed with praise.

After getting himself to Starfleet Command and giving them a full, detailed, first-hand report, Icheb was commended and all but ordered to attend the celebration again. That night, he found himself staring at his computer screen unseeingly, his thoughts a mess. The doctor would be visiting him every evening starting Monday. As it was a Friday night, that meant he would have to handle his troubles on his own, try to deal with his ordeal with the skills he had been taught.

Closing his eyes, Icheb tried to concentrate on the meditation Tuvok had taught him, but flashes of his mutilated friends... his love... by the hands of those who tried to turn him into a monster shook him back to the present. Blinking away the images, glad he could at least now banish them easier, Icheb rubbed his face with his hand and sighed wearily. If the memories over his assimilation or the images the Queen had sent him, his agonizing over having to keep distant from Naomi didn't help much at all either.

Elsewhere, Naomi was facing a similar dilemma, though she had the advantage of an intact sanity and mental infrastructure. All the same, she lay in her bed in her parent's home on Earth, unable to sleep. Starfleet had allowed Naomi and the rest of the crew who suffered during the battle a few days of leave. Naomi now only yearned to be at the academy, if only to be close to Icheb again. They lived close enough to the academy for it to be convenient at least.

The fierce battle with the Borg had drained both of them and they wanted nothing more than to be together... but with having to share quarters on Voyager, being overloaded with work and repair detail, and simply not finding time, they had barely seen each other for a week. Deciding she couldn't bear it any longer, needing to see him, Naomi went over to the phone, hoping he wasn't asleep yet. When he responded and she saw his familiar, handsome face, she felt herself physically relax. "Icheb," she murmured, simply absorbing his image.

"Naomi, what's wrong?" Icheb asked in concern. Naomi looked a little stressed and completely disheveled, and it was still the most beautiful sight to him in the world at that moment.

"Icheb... would you..." Naomi frowned to herself, unsure if she should ask, not wanting to intrude if he was still trying to recover. "Would it be acceptable if I stopped by?"

Icheb knew it probably wasn't proper for a lady to be seen stopping by his apartment that late in the night, especially if the lady was still his _student_ , but he didn't have it in him to deny her. Not to mention all of his senses screamed a resounding _yes_. "You're always welcome here, Naomi," he said softly, though his tone held a touch of insistence.

"I'll see you in thirty then," Naomi smiled and reached over, touching the screen briefly, as though she imagined she could almost feel him.

Icheb answered without hesitation. "I await you with anticipation." Naomi smiled fondly and ended the call.

Icheb impatiently awaited her arrival and checked his clock again. Six minutes late. Icheb ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm down, and almost literally jumped when he heard the soft rap on the door, quiet enough that only he would be able to hear it. Naomi was there and in full sneak mode. Icheb quickly went over to the door and opened it eagerly, his eyes softening the sight of her. "Naomi Wildman," he greeted tenderly, stepping back to let her in. Having seen very little of her for over a week, Icheb's soul cried out for her, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms, pull her to his bed, and bask in their pleasure... but he had to resist, had to calm down and be attentive to her. He knew very well that Naomi had suffered through the battle as well, as physically as he had mentally. He could not force himself on her, _would not_ force himself, he loved her far too deeply to ever treat her like that, but the overwhelming need for her was nearly blinding. He feared that as much as he loved her, he may not be able to control himself.

" _Icheb Hansen_ ," Naomi greeted back with a tired, though playful smile, watching him close the door behind him slowly. Naomi walked past him, setting her bag on the little table by the wall and let her hand trail along his vintage leather couch. They had spent a couple nights during their spring break together watching old movies on that couch, it held pleasant, innocent memories. She felt his presence behind her then, and turned to look at him. It was then she realized he was simply in his uniform slacks and his undershirt. She had no doubt interrupted him as he was getting ready for bed. "Did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked him apologetically. Somehow, Naomi found it strange that she would revert to her polite professionalism with him here... after everything they had been through.

Icheb stared at her incredulously, his opinion similar to hers. "Naomi, you _never_ catch me at a bad time," he said to her firmly, then smiled as calmly as he could, still trying to keep a firm handle on himself. It had been nearly two weeks without her in his arms, and he was feeling the screaming strain from it. "Make yourself at home," he said softly and then disappeared into his kitchen to get them refreshments, trying to distract himself.

Naomi walked over to the couch and sunk into it, sighing in content. For reasons she could now more intimately understand, she always felt so much more at home wherever he resided. He was half her heart, half her soul, so it was only natural she would feel complete near him. Closing her eyes, she listened to Icheb moving around in the kitchen, memories of their arguments and almost kiss flooded her mind, making her smile. They had been so unsure of themselves then, so worried about regulations and staying platonic... or maybe that had just been her. She had thought Icheb was by the book, certainly had been in his youth on Voyager, but evidently time and Earth had changed him.

"Naomi?" said half Ktarian opened her eyes to find Icheb standing near her, holding two glasses of what looked like champagne. Naomi grinned and scooted over, patting the seat next to her. Icheb took the invitation quickly, eagerly sitting and offering her the glass. Naomi accepted it and breathed in the fresh aroma, smiling fondly when she realized it was Antarian cider. Taking a drink, her eyes shut again, appreciating the sweet and tangy flavor. When she opened her eyes, Icheb was giving her an amused look. It was a very welcomed site! Icheb hadn't simply smiled care-freely like that in what seemed like forever.

Icheb reached over for the bottle and refilled her glass, making her eyebrow hike up. A thought occurred to her and another familiar memory flashed through her mind. When Icheb turned back to her from setting the bottle back down, he caught her staring at him where she lounged on his couch intently. "What is it?" he asked curiously, trying to hold himself still, the intensity of her eyes making him stir surprisingly quickly.

Deciding it would help ease him of his recently troubled, Naomi turned to humor once again. "Icheb... are you trying to get me drunk? Invite me to your apartment and offer me a drink?" She asked softly, repeating what she had said to him long ago.

Icheb recognized the words and regarded her for a moment, before a slow smile spread over his lips. "Trust me," he began, a familiar twinkle in his eyes, a throw-back to his more care-free days before the Borg conflict. "If my intention were what you are suggesting... you would _not_ need to get drunk for _anything_ to _happen_ between us," he challenged, tossing back his old words to her in the same seductively low tone he had used then.

This time, he meant it. This time, his words made Naomi's eyes slide shut as her body reacted to the familiar words, shivering hotly with the knowledge that he was unbelievably right. The only kind of drunk she could get was purely off of him. "And are they not your intentions?" she smiled looking back at him, flirting right back this time.

Icheb could not stop himself from leaning closer to her, his arm sliding across the back of the couch as he moved, letting her feel the heat of his stare. "That depends. Is it working?" he asked barely above a whisper, eyes wide and trained on her.

Naomi had been getting the feeling that he was holding himself back since she got there. No, she wouldn't put up barriers between them, even if they _were_ back on Earth, even if they _were_ technically at the student-instructor capacity again. Naomi set her glass down and moved closer to him. She turned to face him and then abruptly pulled herself over his lap, caressing his cheeks while he held her by the waist. "You tell me," she said and leaned in to tug at his bottom lip with her teeth temptingly.

Icheb shuddered deeply at the feeling of her on him and had to bite back a moan of desire. Naomi shifted in his lap, smiling devilishly, knowing what it did to him. Icheb didn't stop her from subtly grinding her hips against his now obvious arousal, instead, he reached for her and took her mouth with his. He slipped his tongue past her lips, claiming her mouth, infusing his need for her into it, his tongue slipping along her cheeks, under her own as he tasted her eagerly, their languid exploration ripping open the boiling urgency they felt.

Naomi gasped in surprise when Icheb slipped his hands under her legs and lifted her up with him abruptly, quickly carrying her directly to his bed. She held onto his shoulders as his long legs made short work of the trip, wasting no time with getting reacquainted. Naomi would be lying through her teeth if she said she hadn't had intense fantasies over this. Fantasies of her old friend, her instructor, taking her to his bed in his apartment, so close to the academy, and having his way with her. What if she had flirted back to him back then, back when things were so complicated? Would things have heated up for them sooner or gotten even more awkward?

Icheb laid her down over his bed, being the one to straddle her this time, his hands resting on either side of her head as he looked down at her. "I must confess, I have thought of doing this for many _many_ months," he revealed hoarsely, his eyes darkening more and more by the second.

Naomi shivered at the intensity in his smoldering gaze and smiled. "Me too," she agreed, seeing the amusement dance in his eyes momentarily at the reply. Naomi sat up for a moment and they helped each other tear their clothes off, stripping each other hastily. Icheb towered above her, gazing down at her reverently, taking in the beauty before him. He leaned back then, laying a soft kiss over her belly, making her quiver and heart speed up as he began to trail open-mouthed kisses up until he reached her taut peaks. Naomi bit her lip, watching him take one into his mouth, letting her feel his teeth softly while sliding his hand over the other, rubbing, licking, suckling her until she was squealing and wriggling beneath him.

Naomi ran her fingers through his short, wavy hair, tugging on him gently. Icheb crawled up and angled himself, losing himself in her kiss, moaning when she slid her legs up his, pulling in on his hips urgently. Icheb obeyed, sinking into her, rocking forward without preamble, sparing no time and making them both hiss in satisfaction. Naomi hugged him close, arching up as he ground his body against hers roughly, the friction driving them both senseless. Icheb's mind would not let him feel relief just yet, making him have a flash of the horrible image of his love, suffering at the hands of the Borg, suffering at _his_ hands. No! No... not now... no, he wouldn't lose her, he wouldn't! Not to them! Not... not ever.

Feeling the impossible need to protect her, to claim her as his and never let her go, Icheb lost all semblance of control.

Their bodies still linked, Icheb's irrepressible need for her overpowered him. He needed more, needed to feel her all around him, needed to hear her scream his name, desperately needed to force his thoughts to not be able to be anywhere else but there with her. Icheb pulled her legs over his shoulders again, but this time remained locked with her, leaning forward more, sliding his hands over her legs as he pushed solidly into her, connecting with her almost painfully, his length nearly pushing into her cervix.

Naomi jerked, gasping in pain at the intensely deep feeling, her body twisting upon the sheets as he rocked them hard, almost brutal in his despairing need to be with her. Each force of his formidable body made Naomi gasp louder, holding onto the bed tightly as he lost himself completely. "I-Icheb," she tried, wincing at the ferocity of his thrusts. Icheb did not slow, but part of him sensed her discomfort and felt hatred for himself, but just... couldn't stop! He couldn't control himself... but he did find enough of himself to let himself release her legs. Naomi sighed in relief, welcoming him back into her arms as he leaned in toward her again, pulling her legs back around his gyrating hips.

Searching his darkened eyes, Naomi could see the haunted look in there, that part of him not yet healed completely with his therapy, she saw the desperation for her, the loss of coherency over himself, she wouldn't be able to reach him until he had calmed down. Resigning herself to her fate, she held on to him, hugging him to her body, doing everything she could to offer him comfort, knowing he needed it beyond anything else at the moment. Wincing at the strength behind his movements, Naomi was not however barred from the unexpected pleasure that arose from the aggressiveness, pushing into him, trying to keep up. Naomi took his face in her hands, pulling him down to kiss her, relaxing a little more as he responded to her the way she was familiar with, kissing her languidly, lovingly, even as he brutally pinned her to his bed, her body jarring with each thrust.

Part of Icheb knew he was being too forceful, knew he was hurting her, but a deep ache inside him, a piece of him that was missing, screamed for him to find his missing part, to join with her as solidly as he could, fill the void. Even so, he reached down between their joined bodies, doing what he could through the clouded grind of his distorted feelings, doing what he could to give her at least some comfort. He found her sensitive little nub, rubbing her until she was convulsing in ecstasy. That part of him that still held sanity felt relieved then, sensing the pleasure from her, feeling her writhe beneath him. Naomi's pulsing pain shifted into pleasure and back again repeatedly, confusing her senses as her cries were muffled by his delving tongue.

Through the consuming fire, neither of them noticed the subtle slide of metal, the distorted, muffled sound of a crack from deep within the bed. And then Icheb's world was falling, his senses exploding in fiery vengeance as his end took him. He cried out, heaving forward with the intensity, crushingly. "Icheb!" Naomi cringed, gasping as the urgency of his completion forced him to ram himself into her that much harder. Naomi shook underneath him, gripping him tightly as finally he released inside her. As he stilled over her, Naomi bit back a painful, needful whimper, not wanting to distress him any more than he already was. She could forgo her own relief for him, would do anything for him.

Icheb panted, unrestrained tears slipping down his cheeks, red eyes blinking them away rapidly, mourning his barbaric actions. "...Forgive me..." he murmured against her, hiding his face shamefully at the crook of her neck.

Naomi said nothing, simply wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close, kissing his hair tenderly as she stroked his back soothingly. She felt him shaking against her bitterly and held him closer, doing everything she could to assure him that she was there, she was with him, and prove to him that she would never fault him, never deny him, and loved him with the ferocity of an imploding star. "Shh," she shushed him then, holding him tightly. "I love you, Icheb," she repeated to him, kissing his head tenderly.

It took him a good long while to calm down, but when he did, he pulled her close and simply held her, encapsulating her in his warmth, whispering his undying adulation for her until they slipped into fitful, deep slumber.

The next morning, Naomi frowned slightly when Icheb had yet to awaken. That was unusual for him and it concerned her a little. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she shook him gently. "Icheb?" she called, but he didn't wake up. Feeling a little bit of fear creep in, Naomi turned and leaned over him, shaking him a little hard, still nothing. For a moment Naomi felt panic, wondering if his mental trauma had forced his overloading mind into a coma... but then she saw him shift. When he suddenly jerked awake and looked up at her with confusion, she frowned worriedly again. "Icheb? Icheb, are you okay?" she asked.

Icheb blinked a few times, as though trying to regain his senses, and then focused on her. "Yes. I...I think my regulating disk might have gotten damaged last night," he told her, rubbing at his face tiredly.

Naomi gaped incredulously. "You're kidding? We've never done that before. You had one on Voyager, right?"

"Yes, but the structure of that bed was a lot more stable than this one," he mumbled.

Naomi slipped her hands over his face. "I'm so sorry," she told his, stroking his refined lines gently.

Icheb gave her a severe look and took her hands, kissing them before feathering her face with more kisses. "No!" he insisted between kisses. "No, don't you dare apologize! What I did to you... no, Naomi Wildman, It's not your fault," he said firmly, pulling back to look into her eyes. The ferocity of their coupling, his endless consuming need for her had cracked the disk, she hadn't done a thing. "It was _my_ fault, okay?"

"Shh, okay, Icheb," Naomi agreed, reaching up to trace the lines of his face again, trying to calm him.

Icheb forced himself to relax."In any case," he added, his toned subdued, "-it is nothing I can not repair."

Naomi tried not to look at him sadly, her heart weeping for the his fractured soul. Instead, she decided to play it safe. "Will you be okay today with little sleep?" She asked him curiously.

"Naomi," Icheb smiled weakly then. "I am very familiar with sleepless nights," he assured her. "You have made sure of that," he added with a softened gaze. "How could I have done that to you?" he said then, caressing her soft cheeks tenderly.

"You weren't yourself," Naomi answered him.

"...I was a monster," he deeply frowned to himself.

Naomi knew he was exaggerating pretty dramatically, but also knew he would firmly reject any other way of describing himself. "I don't believe it," she said then.

"Whether or not you do or do not is irrelevant. I hurt you, that is a fact. I... Naomi, how could I ever make it up to you?" he begged, his heart not letting himself rest without repenting to her. "Please, tell me what I can do for you, anything. I'm yours to command."

Naomi flushed at his words but sighed in exasperation. "Icheb, I understood why you did it, I still do. I don't resent you and I don't reject you, please don't hate yourself over something like that," she implored him.

"Please... please let me," he said, holding her close, burring his face in her hair.

Naomi knew he would be inconsolable if she refused him of this, so she thought about it. What could he do for her? She wouldn't accept him doing her work for her, that just wasn't how she operated. She couldn't ask him to do menial tasks for her either, that wouldn't feel right at all. The only thing she could think of... was something related to how he felt he had faulted her. Something here, with him, together. But what? Naomi's mind suddenly flashed back to the holodeck and she felt herself flush deeply. Could she really ask him to do that? Fulfill such a dark fantasy? She knew Icheb would be hesitant, knew he would think it would hurt her... but the thought of him taking her in such an uncontrolled, primal way made her ache with need all over again.

Icheb pulled away to look at her. "Naomi?" he prompted, hearing her heart begin to race. "What is it?"

"I... I um," Naomi bit her lip, not having a single clue how to ask him of this, feeling unbelievable timidity. She was not usually the type to enjoy such dominant acts on herself, having an assertive side that reigned in her normally, but... with Icheb it was different. He was naturally very sweet and kind, the idea of him dominating her..? Fresh thrill burned deep in her belly, her cheeks turning bright red.

Icheb noticed her hesitation and could only assume it was something she would normally not ask of him. Perhaps a fantasy? If it meant he could help her feel no pain, feel as much pleasure as possible, he was willing to do anything for her. "Show me, Naomi," Icheb begged.

"I.. Icheb, it's not exactly... _romantic,_ " she explained weakly, unable to properly keep eye contact with him.

Icheb frowned thoughtfully. So he was right, it was a fantasy. He hooked her chin in his hand and tilted her over to look back at him. "If it is a fantasy you had of us, of me, then I am more than willing to help you experience it in full," he promised.

Naomi shuddered at his words, biting her lip. She still felt hesitant, but knew he would do this. Still feeling shy, instead of telling him, Naomi sat up with him, pushing him to the edge a little on the bed so she had room to turn around, sitting over on her calves. Giving him her back, she looked back over at him, hoping he understood, her face Ktarian red. Icheb's eyes widened, instantly knowing what she wanted and felt himself stir painfully. He smiled at her, nodding in understanding and crawled over a little closer.

Her neck straining slightly, Naomi turned back, her eyes boring into the headrest on his bed, shivering at the feel of his warm hand on her bare back. Icheb slid his hand up and down, as though to soothe her, before gently pushing her down on her palms. His hands slid down her back to the soft swells before him, caressing her a moment before pulling himself up a little, leaning over her, his chest grazing her back.

Naomi's heart beat a mile a second, feeling him brace his knees on either side of her legs. She shuddered in anticipation, hearing him working himself to full-mast behind her, felt his arm brush against her with his frantic movements, panting slightly, grunting with the effort. And then his hands were on her again, searching, feeling her, one of his hands slipping between her legs, spreading them, sliding over her aching core. It was everything Naomi could do to not burst right then.

While Icheb's fingers explored her deepest folds, his other hand slipped over her breasts, testing her rosy pebbles. Naomi's head dropped, her hair veiling her face as she shook, trying to keep her balance on her hands and knees. When she felt his erection push into her then, just enough for her to feel the pressure against her, continuing to rub her, Naomi tried desperately to push back on him, feeling herself unraveling very quickly... but he held her still.

Icheb knew how much she ached, could feel her warm and slick, ready for him, but he would do this right, would extend her pleasure until she could bear it no longer. He began to gentle push the tip of himself in and out, just enough to make her keen against him, her limbs losing the strength to hold herself upright. He did this until she was panting harshly and clenching the sheets tightly. "Ich..." Naomi's protest was cut off from her own hot white burning finish, blinding her as her walls closed in on herself.

At the moment of her vicious orgasm, Icheb finally pushed in slowly, past her clenching walls, crying out at the feeling of her tightly compressing his arousal from her completion. The feel of Icheb squeezing into her while she was in her throes of ecstasy forced her body to lock up tighter, forced another, stronger than the previous, tearing through her with a vengeance. Her head swam and body shook as she wept in carnality.

Icheb sighed in relief, feeling that his efforts were succeeding. He very gently began to thrust in and out, slow and methodically, keeping his own furious need for her at bay, unwilling to make her feel any discomfort again. Once Naomi's body had calmed enough, she looked back at him intensely. "Icheb, harder, ... _please_ ," she begged him in smothered frustration.

Icheb stilled, feeling uncertain. "I... it will hurt you, I don't want to hurt you again... I've done so enough already," he protested, groaning at his own restraint all the same, his words contradicted his jolting pleasure at her insistence.

"Please, I need it, _cr-crave_ it..." Naomi moaned in frustration, having known he would resist. If she was in the right state of mind, she would have rolled her eyes... as it were, all she could do was rip at his sheets in desperation. "You won't... hurt me, please, I _need_ you..." she panted, the feel of him so full and so still within her driving her mad.

Icheb felt his senses leave him at her plea, hearing her beg him to satisfy her nearly made him come then and there. With a strangled groan of desire, Icheb angled himself over her further, pressing her body deeper into the bed and let himself loose on her. Naomi felt her arms give away, her cheek resting on the pillow, hands clutching the sheets on either side of her head in a vice, nearly pulling them off his bed as he rode her swiftly. Her breaths were short and rough with each pounding thrust, each deep drive making little, high-pitched cries escape her as he continued to press and rub on her between their joined bodies attentively.

And then the inferno could scream no longer, the waves of pulsating lust could no longer be tempered, and Naomi found herself sobbing in pleasure, making Icheb shout at the power of her rippling finish, brutally taking hold of her, forcing his body to feel his as well. Naomi thought she couldn't experience any more than she already was, but the feel of him releasing his hot seed deep inside her from behind, his body slapping into hers lustfully at the ferocity of his orgasm, forced another out of her. Icheb braced himself over her, leaning in until Naomi could feel his body molded over hers, his breath over her cheek as they rode the exhilaration to the end.

Icheb held still for only a moment before pulling her back around, sliding her legs up on either side of him as he knelt before her. "Naomi," he began hoarsely. She blinked away the oppressing fog of pleasure to focus on him, seeing his red face, darkened expression and severe determination. The half Ktarian shuddered deeply at the smoldering, burning look in his beautiful eyes. "I _will_ make up for causing you pain. I _will not stop_ until I am satisfied that I have achieved my mission. I will not stop until I am sure you can not take any more," he promised her fiercely, leaning down over her again, his hands slipping over her tenderized flesh. Icheb's words and tormenting touch inspired new levels of ecstasy out of Naomi, making her cry to the heavens in rapture.

Later, after Icheb spent hours making her writhe and scream his name repeatedly, he decide by mid-afternoon that a break was in order, making Naomi sigh in relief, never having imagined he could make her feel the realm of sensations he inspired in her, and at the same time utterly exhaust her the way he did. Lounging in bed, completely spent, her throat a little rough, Naomi mentioned to Icheb that she'd like to visit her roommates, having missed them quite a bit during the mission. She smiled a little in amusement when Icheb was very reluctant to let her go, though at the same time felt exasperated by his insatiable possessiveness.

"You could always see them tomorrow and stay here?" Icheb mentioned hopefully, his arms still securely wrapped around her body.

"Icheb," Naomi chided fondly. "I can't spend the entire day here... eventually we have to get up."

"Why..." Icheb groaned, behaving very much like a spoiled child at the moment, holding her closer.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "You have work to do and I have classes to study for. Besides, I _would_ really... like to... visit my.. ah- Icheb..." Naomi gasped, a fresh wave of heated longing ripping through her as Icheb did everything he could to persuade her to stay. "No, that's... that's not fair..." she moaned, her body arched against his delving digits along her sensitized, now once again utterly wet center.

"Fairness is irrelevant," he smiled against her back, laying a soft kiss on her shoulder. Naomi wanted to get up, she really did... but she couldn't find herself willing to stop him from pulling her beneath him again, forcing her exhausted body to feel wakeless ecstasy once again.

By early evening, Naomi managed to trick Icheb after he had paused in his ravenous efforts to make her lose her mind for sustenance and slipped into the sonic shower. She knew he would protest, but she was determined to do _something_ productive with her free time, even if was visiting her friends. She loved Icheb with a blazing, explosive passion, but _she needed a break_! Naomi was glad she had the foresight to lock the door as well, relieved when Icheb didn't override it and make her give in to him again.

Icheb lay in bed, his sheets half covering his wide, muscled frame when Naomi exited the bathroom. It was very clear to see that Icheb knew how unreasonably sexy she found him and did _nothing_ to be modest about it. He lay there with the sheets _just_ covering his waist and part of his legs, one leg was propped up on the bed while he rested his cheek on one of his palms. His other hand lay casually over his thigh and the look on his face told Naomi that he was obviously doing that on purpose.

Damn him.

It was working too.

Naomi shivered and ached at just the sight of him, knowing his intentions were to convince her to stay. Huffing in frustration over her own traitorous body, Naomi forced herself to look away from him, the temptation to go back, sink into his warm sheets and inviting arms a little too easy to give into. Still, Naomi was glad that he made no efforts to stop her aside from trying _seduce_ her, this time, and simply watched her preen herself in his mirror.

"You understand that I will not be able to get any work done tonight, right?" he said, his rumbling voice low, pleasantly sending more shivers down her spine.

"Yes, but it's _your_ fault, you know," Naomi mentioned dryly, smiling at his reflection on his mirror.

A few minutes later, Naomi finally manage to 'escape' Icheb's apartment. Sneaking back into campus and trying not to limp all the way. Naomi sighed in exasperation at how sore she was, but wouldn't let the memories of _why_ distract her. They had spent the _entire_ day in bed, from dawn until dusk, only pausing when absolutely necessary. It was going to be unbearably difficult to focus now, but she would certainly do her best to try!

Slipping through the halls, Naomi smiled then at other, more innocent memories, remembering sneaking in or out of his place back when things were less intense, what seemed like forever ago. Making it through the dorm wing and to her room, Naomi grinned at the sound of her roommates deep in conversation, having missed them more than she thought. She unlocked the door and watched them for a while.

Sensing a presence, the girls turned toward he entrance. "Naomi!" Hannah gasped in surprise when she spotted her standing there. The cheerful full human jumped from her seat on the couch and went over to hug her. "I missed you!"

"Hannah!" Naomi laughed, hugging her back. When they pulled away, Hannah tugged at her to follow her to the couch and the girls sat.

"It is good to see you again, Naomi," T'Chea grinned.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to communicate much with you guys," Naomi apologized.

"That's okay! Tell us about your mission, we want to know as much about your adventure as possible!" Hannah asked eagerly, eyes wide with interested. Naomi smiled fondly and set off to tell her tale, explaining in not so many gruesome details the success of the wormhole, followed by the invasion of the Borg and their grueling battle against them.

"It is most fortunate we had the means to deal with them this time!" T'Chea grimaced, not willing to think of how events might have turned out without the victory.

"If it wasn't for Icheb..." Sacrificing his sanity, she added mentally, "-we might not be here now," she shuddered, having heard of the intense fury during the battle, how he restlessly tore into his knowledge of the Borg in order to desperately find a way to defeat them.

Hannah and T'Chea noticed their friends pained expression and knew she must have been reliving something not so pleasant. "So um, when did you get back?" Hannah asked, hoping to distract her roommate.

"Hm? Oh uh..." Naomi flushed. "Yesterday..." she answered quietly. She thought of lying, but knew they would catch her at it. Naomi had never been very good at it.

" _Yesterday?_ Why didn't you come see us?" T'Chea demanded.

"I... was somewhere else," Naomi sighed, knowing she'd have to tell them of her evolved relationship with their professor soon enough. "I was with Icheb," she revealed quietly.

"Whoa hold on, all night?" Hannah's eyes popped.

"Yes," Naomi answered, rolling her eyes at both of their stunned expressions. "I hope I don't have to remind either of you how _dangerous_ this is to us? We... couldn't stay apart, but we're going to try to keep things as professional as we can until it isn't so _illegal_."

"Y-Yeah! Of course!" Hannah answered. "Wow, that's quite a change," she grinned then. "So... how is it?"

"Hannah, I don't kiss and tell," Naomi huffed, unwilling to get into all of that with her nosy friends.

"Aww come on, Naomi! Just about the entire female population is dying to know how the quiet, reserved, sexy former Borg professor is in bed!" Hannah whined, though it was clear she was also pulling her leg and just wanted to get a reaction out of her.

"You're so crude," Naomi pulled a face. "Don't make me smack you..."

"Alright alright," Hannah laughed. "I'm happy for you, you know..." an impish smile lifted her lips for a second. "It's a relief, you've been agonizing over him for over half a year! It's about time he gave in, took you to bed and screwed your brains out," she huffed with laughter at Naomi's exasperated expression, before she found herself being pushed off the couch. Hannah simply lay on the floor, still peeling with laughter at their friend's expense. T'Chea sighed tolerantly but smiled a little at the fondness hiding in Naomi's annoyed expression. Hannah's attempts at helping Naomi forget the bad times she experienced worked after all.

 _TBC..._

* * *

 **End A/N:** Oh jeez, I lied! A whopping 10k+ chapter! Wow, unexpected! Icheb seems to have to make it up to Naomi quite a bit. Icheb's regulating disk breaking I took from the original story, having meant it to be more funny than anything else, though in this context it is anything but. Beginning part of the chapter influenced heavily by "Any Other Name" by Thomas Newman. The love scenes were influenced by the songs "Dark Side of the Glass" and "Black Rose" both by Lori Yates again. FYI they are from the Forever Knight soundtrack, but they depict Icheb's darkness and inner demons pretty well. "Monster" by Imagine Dragons might be a fitting song for him too.

 **NOTE:** I had some personal things come up so it may be a little bit before I update again. Expect a new chapter between the 24th of September to the 2nd of October, any time between then.

Shout Outs

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** I am absolutely thrilled that I could offer some relief to your boring work schedule. Believe it or not I wrote that "Stay out of my head" line with you in mind! I've been re-watching the key episodes of tv show and the fan film in order for uhh you know, research and to keep my interest fueled. I imagine this Icheb would have used a similar tone as he had in the movie, though probably a little more desperate. I know what you mean about the names, the writers didn't think that through I think. Flores is very mildly based on the Argentinian soldier "Dizzy" from Starship Troopers! :)

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you for your kind words, I'm super excited people seem to be liking this story!


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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Icheb had not been thrilled Naomi had chosen to spend the rest of the weekend with her roommates, having wanted to spend the time with her, but had understood that she needed time with her friends and to herself as well. Subsequently, classes where canceled that week for the funerals, though it didn't mean they would be able to see much of each other anyway. As such, that week, with the funerals, the increase in people coming in and out of Earth, including San Francisco, made it all the more difficult for Naomi to sneak into Icheb's apartment.

Fortunately for Icheb, the time allowed frequent visits from the doctor and even a few from Tuvok to help further mend his broken mind. There had been a lot of promising progress made and Icheb found he no longer had tormenting nightmares and no longer experienced panic attacks. Finally, he was learning to deal with it... though his burning hatred for the Borg remained just as powerful as ever.

Throughout that period of time, the Federation gathered to honor those who died heroically in the massive interstellar battle, those who had done everything they could to stop the Borg invasion. Many distraught families received flags and medals from their fallen daughters, sons, wives, husbands, and siblings. Days of mourning were had by many. Finally, the week worth of funerals and send offs were finally at a close, and the Federation, Starfleet, and all those who lost loved ones could concentrate on happier thoughts. Very early that Monday, the reminder invitation to attend the celebration at Deep Space Nine for Wednesday was sent.

Naomi woke up early that Monday with a bit of apprehension. This was the first class day since leaving for her mission, that she would be forced to pretend nothing was going on between her and her Astrometrics instructor. Deciding she couldn't just lay about in bed, Naomi got up and set off to prepare for the day. Fortunately, one of the good things of not having seen too much of her _lover_ , was that she could now walk around normally without having to hide a wince or limp. Part of her sighed disbelievingly at how she actually _missed_ that. She wasn't a masochist, but it had been _amazing_. Stepping into the sonic shower, memories of that unbelievable day filtered through her mind and Naomi had to forcibly brush the distracting thoughts from her mind.

Naomi met her roommates in the hall where they waited for her and walked with them into class. "...So are you excited?" Hannah asked with a little grin.

The half Human tensed. "About?" Naomi questioned, her brow popping up.

T'Chea glanced at their human friend and saw the mischievous sparkle in her eye. "About this Wednesday, the celebration?" she asked before Hannah could ask anything embarrassing. Ever since T'Chea had connected with Naomi accidentally, she felt they need to protect her, even if it was from their own friend.

The half Ktarian visibly relaxed and smiled at T'Chea. "Yes, I can't wait! Most of the original Voyager crew is going to be there!"

Hannah, having figured she could give her friend a break nodded and smiled. "I bet you miss them, right?"

The younger woman's face split into a wide grin. "You wouldn't believe how much! I worked with a lot of them on the mission, but there were a few missing that I'm looking forward to seeing." The friends sat and ate breakfast quickly before class, joined by Kav'ain and a few of his buddies. Naomi smiled as she watched the group talk, laugh, and tease each other. As much as she had missed her family on Voyager, she was only a little surprised how much she had grown to miss these friends as well.

Walking into her first class that morning, Naomi did everything she could not to greet Icheb the way she had been used to greeting him for the past month on Voyager. Instead, she gave him a fleeting smile and walked up to her seat, trying not to notice the intensity of his eyes on her. Sitting down, Naomi pulled out her PADD and opened the page they would be studying on her computer. As Icheb taught, Naomi's eyes swept her instructor's muscled frame, barely and tightly concealed by his fitted black instructors uniform. She bit her lip and tried to concentrate again, losing herself in his rich voice. The half Ktarian sighed inwardly, having predicted how hard it would be to get through classes now.

Meanwhile, Icheb was having similar difficulty focusing on the class. As he taught, his eyes scanned the class, lingering on a certain Human-Ktarian hybrid, attempting everything he knew to help him not to let his memories of having her in his arms flood him. Despite his normally strict discipline over his thoughts, a stray fantasy rushed through him before he could stop it. Before his eyes, he imagined pushing Naomi over his desk, tearing her clothes off and making her scream for all of the academy to hear. Doing all he could to not let the unwitting images make him physically react, Icheb threw himself into his lesson, showing more enthusiasm than his students were used to seeing from him.

Clearly, a week apart had been _too long_ for either of them.

After class was mercifully over, Icheb swallowed hard as his eyes betrayed him again, watching her lithe, sculpted form descend the steps of the seats. His eyes trailed over her voluptuous body and shapely legs, the memory of them tightening over his hips in desperation while he rode her into his bed making him bite back a moan of frustration. "Professor," Naomi greeted him with a slow smile as she walked by him with her friends, making his hold on his PADD tighten painfully. Icheb had never felt so close to losing his mind over just a simple smile, and resolved to keep his thoughts focus for his next classes.

By the end of the day, Naomi felt both relieved and stressed. She had expected her roommates to tease her about it, point out how much she was squirming in class, tell her that the smile she had given her professor was a little _too_ friendly, but thankfully they had remained tactfully silent. That night however, Hannah and T'Chea looked over at their roommate with worry, noticing how wired and tense she was.

"What's up, Naomi?" Hannah asked curiously with a little frown.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," Naomi answered quickly, her eyes scanning her notes pointedly.

T'Chea and Hannah observed their friend quietly. Naomi was sitting on her bed with the typical amount of PADDs all scattered around her. She had one in each hand and was glancing at both of them. Nothing out of the ordinary there... only, she was so wound up that one of her legs was bouncing with barely restrained agitation and she was appeared to be trying to eat her bottom lip with how much she was chewing at it.

"Are you certain?" T'Chea questioned worriedly. "Something seems to be bothering you?"

Naomi sighed and placed her PADDs down. Bothering her was an apt description. It seemed she was going on withdrawal from her drug and it was driving her insane. She had seen the way Icheb had reacted to her that morning and knew he was feeling the strain just as strongly as she was. Unfortunately, with how many people were visiting the academy, neither of them could do anything about it.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Naomi answered her concerned friend. "Just stress over everything that's been happening really..."

Hannah gave her friend a pained expression. "You miss him, don't you?" she asked quietly.

Naomi said nothing for a few moments, simply staring at the mess of PADDS and her computer over her bed. "Is it that obvious?"

Miss him? That was an understatement. She had gone ten years without seeing him before, and now that she met him again, got a taste of what he had to offer her, she was overwhelmed with the need to be with him. Naomi wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, listen to his rich voice, surround herself with his familiar, comforting presence, breathe in his scent and simply bask in everything Icheb. But she couldn't, neither of them could, not really... not until either this week was over and she could sneak to his place, or she graduated from the academy.

Naomi had been getting a clear picture from him that Icheb wanted more than to just spend glorious sleepless nights with her. At first the thought scared her a little, the idea of such a commitment was a little overwhelming... but in the end it was always different with him. She had gotten plenty of time to think about it over the past year, and if she was being honest with herself, yes, she could really get used to the idea of spending a _lot_ more time with him than just nights. Did she miss him? With every fiber of her being.

In close enough proximity from her, T'Chea seemed to detect something, a tug of vibrant, yearning emotions from her friend, traces from their link. "I suggest you try to conceal your emotions a little better. We could all pretty much tell that you and the instructor were tied in a way, it's probably suspicious to the other students as well," she warned her.

Running her hand through her hair, Naomi nodded. "Yes, you're right" she let out a breath. "Thanks for pointing that out. I'll do better."

The next day was just as tense. Nonetheless, this time Naomi made sure to be friendly but not as obvious as she was on Monday. There was still the obvious desire between both of them, the vibrant undeniable pull to be with each other, but they stuck to their guns and remained as outwardly platonic as they could. After class ended however, Icheb stopped her from leaving as he had many times before. "Cadet Wildman, may I speak to you for a moment?"

Naomi smiled at her friends to go on ahead of her. "Of course sir." They both waited a little bit until the students left before she approached him with a raised brow, aware of his eyes on her legs for a second before they returned to her own. "Something wrong, professor Hansen?" she asked innocently, trying to ignore the thrill she got every time he checked her out.

"Nothing is wrong, however, I've only ever seen Seven try to fuse with her PADD as much as you have lately," Icheb smirked lightly. "Problem concentrating?" he asked teasingly.

Naomi huffed and gave him an annoyed look. "The only reason I may be having to concentrate a little harder than usual is because of _you_ , _professor_ ," she hissed at him, though there was no sign of real anger or frustration... at least, not _that_ kind of frustration.

Icheb smiled softly, mildly regretful and inclined his head to her. "My apologies," he mentioned gently. "I'll see you at the celebration tomorrow?" he asked, attempting to ease the strain a little.

"Of course, _sir_ ," Naomi relaxed and smiled back. "I'll see you then." She had turned to leave but felt his hand latch on to hers for a moment. Making sure no one was watching, Naomi gripped his better and squeezed it, sending him a look of ardent promise. Icheb caught the meaning and felt his cardiopulmonary enhancements fail him for a second. It was gone as quick as it had flashed before her eyes and then her hand slipped from his and she was walking away without a second glance. Icheb took a breath to calm himself and went back to preparing for his next classes.

Finally, Wednesday rolled in and Naomi found herself standing behind the pilot on the shuttle to Deep Space Nine, watching the station get bigger. Around the station Naomi could see many different ships, Starfleet, Klingon, Vulcan, Andorian, and other races. Voyager was not there, but Naomi figured it was under repair with the other damaged ships from the battle. "Settle down, Cadet," the pilot gently scolded when Naomi became a little impatient.

"Sorry, sir! Just excited!" Naomi answered cheerfully.

"Well, strap yourself in, we've been cleared to dock."

As soon as the shuttle door opened, Naomi was willing the pressurizing chamber to hurry and let her into the station. Through the glass, Naomi could see her mom and dad waiting for her. Once the doors finally opened, the room pressurizing with a hiss, Naomi was pulled into her father's strong embrace. "Hey, kiddo!"

"Dad!" Naomi laughed, hugging him tight. "Mom!" she grinned then when Greskrendtregk pulled Samantha into the hug as well.

"My girls," he sighed.

"Dad, don't get mushy..." Naomi blushed. "I'm a..." she trailed off. She had been about to joke around and say she was a 'war hero' and deserved a little more refinement but it would be in bad taste to joke about what had happened.

"A grown woman?" Samantha supplied with a wink.

"Yes, sorry," Greskrendtregk grunted and pulled away from them. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," he cooed, smoothing her neatly bunned hair gently.

"Thank you, dad," Naomi blushed again.

Samantha pat her husband's arm. "Come on now darling, let's get her to the rest of her crew!"

The first thing Naomi spotted when she and her parents entered the promenade was Kathryn Janeway speaking quietly with Chakotay someways on the other side, in a corner table. From the distance, they looked like they were either plotting something, or their relationship now stretched beyond platonic friendship. Knowing them though, probably both. Either way, Naomi was very happy to see them and couldn't wait to say hello to Chakotay! "Naomi Wildman." Naomi grinned and spun around to face Seven of Nine.

"Seven!" Naomi was surprised when it was the former Borg who pulled her into a hug this time. Clearly motherhood had done her well! Naomi was still curious what happened to the rumor of the former drone and Chakotay hitching up, but decided it wouldn't be very appropriate to just bring up. Maybe with the other Admiral Janeway's involvement she had changed a lot more than she had intended? Either way, from what Naomi could tell, neither she nor Chakotay seemed troubled by it at all. If they _had_ had a prior relationship in the past ten or so years, clearly it hadn't kept up.

"It is good to see you," Seven smiled softly. "You have preformed admirably during the conflict. Well done," she told her with a hint of pride in her tone.

"Thank you, Seven, it means a lot to me to hear that from you," Naomi answered, feeling giddy for getting such a high praise from her mentor. Samantha and Greskrendtregk gave their daughter her space and walked off to speak with friends of their own. "Have you spoken to Icheb?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. I could not be more proud of him," Seven nearly grinned. While she had full use of her emotions now, Seven of Nine was still one of the most reserved among the former drones. "I never doubted his abilities to preform during the conflict and thought his decision to bring you into it held wisdom."

Naomi shifted a little uneasily. "Do you... know of our..?" she trailed off, unsure how to place it or if she even should around so many high ranking Federation officers.

"Of your relationship with him? Yes," Seven answered quietly. "Don't worry, no one is listening."

Ah yes, it seemed every former Borg drone had that enhanced hearing. "And that doesn't factor into your view?" the half Ktarian questioned curiously.

Seven smiled almost fondly. "No."

Naomi felt herself relax and nodded appreciatively to her. "I'm glad to hear it."

"The result of your efforts during the mission speak for themselves. I am not the only one to notice this either," Seven raised a brow and glanced over to a group of Admirals and Ambassadors from the Federation.

"You're kidding," Naomi resisted gawking.

"I do not 'kid' over matters such as this," Seven scolded gently. "Come, I believe B'elanna Paris wanted to speak to you," Seven gestured for the younger woman to follow her. Naomi spotted Tom and B'elanna speaking with an older, burly looking Klingon male. Miral Paris stood between them, grinning up at the adults. If Miral was here, could that be that 'Worf' guy B'elanna had mentioned mentoring the pint-sized Klingon? Throughout the celebration, Voyager members from all over reunited. While an aging Quark tried to swindle many people, as was the Ferengi way, guests mingle for a bit. Naomi had been keeping an eye out for Icheb since she had arrived, but hadn't seen him. It was then she noticed he had been in the far end of the promenade, speaking to a younger looking version of Ambassador Worf.

A little later, the guests were asked to settle down by Kathryn, who stood next to many of the top Starfleet brass, and some of the Federation, including an ambassador from Vulcan Naomi couldn't remember the name of, and Worf. On the other side of Kathryn stood Admirals Picard, Chekov, Paris, Sisko, and Quin. It was Picard who spoke up then. "We are here to celebrate the memories of our fallen brothers and sisters. To pay tribute to the men and women of the Federation who died valiantly in one of the Federation's greatest battles. They are and shall forever be heroes. Today we also commemorate those who risked their lives and triumphed over evil." Picard called a few officers forward, rewarding them with medals and praise.

"Icheb Hansen, please step forward," Kathryn called. Icheb walked over as calmly as he could to the collection of Federation brass and stood still by them. "You have preformed beyond what was expected of you, rose to the call of fleet commander. At the hands of the Borg, the wormhole device would have wrought devastation on a galactic scale. You have saved not just the Federation of planets, but our entire galaxy. Beyond that you have earned the respect of your crew and the respect of the brass. Acting Captain Icheb Hansen, we hereby promote you to the full rank of Captain and award you the medal of Valor. Congratulations."

Icheb tried not to blush in embarrassment when the medal was pinned to his uniform while the whole of the promenade cheered for him. "Thank you sirs," he inclined his head to them.

"Good job, Captain," Picard smiled fondly at him. Icheb smiled back weakly and stepped back.

"Cadet Wildman, please step forward," Admiral Quin said. Naomi jumped in surprise at the unfamiliar voice and looked over at the collection of Admirals and Ambassadors in disbelief as they gazed at her expectantly. Feeling like all eyes were on her, Naomi did everything she could not to appear completely inept as she made her way to the front.

"Naomi Wildman, your performance during the mission has not been missed either. Every report we have received stated your adept efficiency, ability to rapidly compensate during tremulous situations and proficient decisions during the battle. With your vast demonstration of intelligence, battlefield tactics, and scientific aptitude far exceeding that of an average Cadet, we hereby bestow onto you this medal of Honor and grant you accelerated passage through the academy. In an academic years time, should your performances continue to impress, you will be allowed to graduate ahead of your peers and will be granted access to any starship with an available opening of your choosing. Congratulations," the Admiral smiled and pinned the medal to her uniform. As with Icheb, a roar of cheers surrounded her and Naomi had to resist ducking her head bashfully.

"Tha-" Naomi cleared her throat and blushed deeper at her stutter. "Thank you, sirs," she corrected herself and forced herself to stand a little straighter. Around them, their blood and starship family surrounded them giving them their admiration and affection. While Icheb's back was slapped by Ambassador Worf, who claimed he was an honorable warrior in battle, Admirals Paris and Chekov approached the half Ktarian, momentarily pulling her away from all her friends.

"Cadet Wildman, Captain Hansen told me you'd impress. I hadn't believed him when he fought to have you join the mission, but now I see he was right to do so. You've caught the attention of a lot of us in Starfleet Command," Admiral Paris grinned. "We will be keeping a very interested watch on your career."

Naomi wasn't sure what to say. She also wasn't sure whether she liked the idea of being further monitored, especially with how precarious her relationship with a certain Brunali Captain was. "Thank you, sir. While I will _not_ disappoint you, I was simply doing what was needed of me," she told him honestly. "I hadn't expected to be honored as I was."

"Modesty is an admirable trait, young one, but don't sell yourself short," Admiral Chekov smiled.

As the celebration began to wind down, a surprise visit to the large group startled all of them.

Q and Q2 popped in, exasperating Picard and Janeway in a way only they could. Q2 leveled his father with a look, halting the older Q from doing or saying anything embarrassing. Q huffed in annoyance but held himself back, gesturing for his son to carry on. "Hello, everyone!" Q2 grinned. "I promise this will be brief and I promise that my father will behave," he glanced over at the older Q, who crossed his arms almost childishly. "I just wanted to drop by to honor the accomplishments of my friends and their comrades," Q2 flicked his wrist as glasses of champagne appeared next to everyone. "I wanted to congratulate all of you on the heroic battle against the Borg. I'm not sure if I can speak for my dad, but I am proud of all of you, and especially to the valiant efforts of Voyager's new Captain." Around him people raised their glasses and cheerfully agreed and Icheb once again felt like an adolescent, smiling modestly.

"Wow, he's certainly matured," Kathryn muttered next to Picard.

"...Yes..." Picard mentioned, having only met the younger Q once or twice in the past. Something had clearly helped the younger Q mature a lot smoother than his father. He was surprised and pleased by how considerate the young 'man' was and felt comforted by the evidence that he could keep his chaotic father in check. It seemed having Q2 was the best thing the older Q had ever done in Picard's opinion. Both Picard and Kathryn sighed in unison when the older Q approached them with a mischievous smile.

After giving his speech and making his father promise again to not upset any of them, Q2 made his way over to his old friend. "Ich-" the young Q paused for a second and grinned again. "Icheb!" he called, remembering his promise not to call his friend 'Ichy' in front of the officers.

"Hey, Q-ball," Icheb said, knowing Q2 preferred to be distinguished from the other Q by the nickname. The two 'men' stood leaning against a wall, watching the others mingle, laugh, and congratulate each other.

Q2 noticed Icheb's eyes were trained on the young half Ktarian and grinned again. "So have you asked her yet?" Icheb stiffened and looked over at his friend questioningly. "You should know by now I know pretty much everything," Q2 rolled his eyes. "Don't avoid the question."

Icheb squirmed and went back to gazing at the woman who was branded into his thoughts seemingly permanently. "Not yet. It's not the right time yet," he answered simply.

Q2 shook his head and gave his friend a patient look. "You mortals have such short life spans. A mere two hundred or so years with your advances in medical technology, but it's still a blink of an eye for a Q. Sooner or later you'll run out of time. You should ask her before she either finds someone who will or you both grow old and die."

"Don't be so dramatic," Icheb grumbled, giving his friend a tolerant look. Q2 responded with a lopsided smirk. "I'll ask her when the time is right and not a moment before."

That night, after the celebration died down, the guests were allowed to either stay aboard the ships that brought them or stay in a guest room on the station. While Naomi was very happy to see her parents, she had decided on her own room to relax and reflect on the days events. Not to mention how much more pressure she had been given to excel in the academy beyond her peers! It wasn't exactly something that usually happened after all, her circumstance was extraordinary and responsibilities to succeed a lot more strenuous than they had been before.

Still, Naomi was absolutely ecstatic by this turn of events and thrilled for the opportunity to graduate far earlier than she thought. This not only meant that she would be one of the youngest Ensigns in Starfleet, given opportunities most would kill for, but it also meant in a year she and Icheb could finally get some relief from all the sneaking around. While it wasn't exactly smiled upon, following specific guidelines a Captain and an Ensign were allowed to pursue a relationship as long as there was no favoritism and they worked separately. While Naomi didn't like they idea of being separated from him, the lack of stress over being caught outweighed that detail.

Meanwhile, as Naomi got ready for bed, Icheb sat on one of the couches in his guest room, staring at the little blinking charging device for his disk on his night table by his bed, and thought of what Q2 had said. Would she wait for him? Could their relationship last a year with them apart? Icheb held no illusion that they would have to concentrate harder on their careers. While he would no doubt be given his first mission soon, Naomi would have to put everything she had into her studies in order to graduate three years early. This meant they would have little to zero time together. Which meant that they would have to wait and see if their love for each other lasted that time apart.

Getting up then, Icheb forced that dismal thought far from his mind. He knew that tonight would be about the only time they would be able to be together. He could not ignore the chance to see Naomi while they were so close and had no obligations. With the much limited risk of being caught compared to the academy, and much closer quarters, this was the perfect opportunity to be with her. Icheb set off, having to stick to the shadows as he made his way through the station. He knew that the head of security Odo, was a vigilant and furtive officer, but he hoped he could avoid being caught. Fortunately, he had his enhancements and tactical training to fall back to.

When he finally reached her door, he waited for his announcement to be registered. The sight that greeted him made him feel a little guilty as it was clear she had been ready to go to sleep. On the other hand, Naomi was in her silky thin pajamas and the sight was very pleasing to him. It wasn't difficult for his mind to rain carnal images through him at the sight, making his already very lax efforts to stay in control loosen further. "Icheb?" Naomi blinked in surprise to see him at her door.

"Naomi Wildman," Icheb greeted a little breathlessly and glanced around the corridor. "May I enter?"

Naomi tried not to make a lewd remark at his word choice, maybe that was the week of repressed need for him talking, so instead she stepped aside for him. "Of course." Once the doors shut though, she couldn't resist. "You can _enter_ any time you want," she grinned.

Icheb smiled a little, a blush tainting his cheeks. "When you put it that way..." he slid his hand over her cheek and gently tugged her closer to him. Naomi wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her into a kiss. "I'm sorry," he said between kisses, "-I couldn't... stay away..." he told her.

Naomi slid her fingers over the nape of his neck, lightly dragging her nails through his scalp. "I am not protesting," she grinned happily.

Wasting no time, Icheb lifted her up, pulling her legs around his waist. "Good." He walked with her to her bed and lay her over it, kicking off his boots and stripping himself of his uniform top. Kneeling over her, he set off to work, sliding his hands over her own clothes, slowly unbuttoning her top to make his exploration easier. The more he unclothed her, the more impatient he became. Once he had revealed enough, his impatience forced him down onto her, his warm lips on her body making her shiver.

"You know, without... your regulating device... you won't be... able to sleep..?" Naomi mentioned in a strained, distracted voice as he meticulously, kissed every inch of exposed flesh he uncovered.

"Who said... anything... about sleeping?" Icheb grinned against her heated skin, glancing up at her. His nimble fingers pulled her pajama top off entirely, leaving her completely exposed to him as his tongue lay complicated patterns over her bare belly. Naomi shut her eyes and trembled in thrill, laying still and simply enjoyed the overdue attention. While his mouth trailed up to her hardened peaks, his fingers worked to unbuckle his pants. Icheb pulled away only for a second to ruthlessly tears his uniform off, sliding out of his underwear as he leaned back to capture her lips, his fingers working to remove Naomi's remaining clothes.

Naomi kicked out of her panties and wrapped her legs around his waist, tugging him closer, impatient to join with him. "I missed you," she told his softly against his kiss, stroking over his handsome face.

Icheb took her hand and kissed it adoringly. "I did too," he grinned, his eyes flickering playfully. Naomi rolled hers and smacked him arm lightly, feigning annoyance, though she was more than ecstatic to see him back to being playful. "I missed you too," he amended, his hands sliding up and down her legs enticingly. He slid up closer, resting his palms on either side of her and jutted forward eagerly. They stiffened and let out a breath of satisfaction. Soon he was rocking them back and forth, aided by her pushing herself up to meet each of the movements of his hips. "I can't... get you... out of... my head..." Icheb growled with each thrust.

"Nng..!" Naomi could not get her own words from her throat, the dizzying sensation of his purposeful grinding friction against her completely mind numbing. She gasped with each poignant drive of his body, arching up against him. Her legs shook with the intensity of the quickly mounting ecstasy. It was clear Icheb was making up for lost time, and it was completely breathtaking. Naomi held him tight, hugging him close as he leaned in further into her.

Using his body weight and angle, bending his legs slightly while pushing hers a little higher, Icheb tensed himself and pistoned in short, hard bursts, hitting just the right spot each time. Each vibrating tension of his solid body into hers sent waves of indescribable pleasure rolling through them. Icheb was familiar now with her violent reactions, twisting and writhing beneath him while she clawed at his back and sung into his ear. Smiling, Icheb took her wrists and pinned them down to the bed, knowing she liked it when he was assertive with her.

Icheb felt her approaching her end and, after securing her wrists above her head against the pillow in one hand, reached in between their bodies with the other, rubbing her until she was screeching his name. Icheb used the opportunity of her head thrown back to leaned in further and slide his tongue over her pulse point, sucking lightly, extending her pleasure.

Naomi keened breathlessly, making Icheb shudder, loving the sound of sexual desperation while she cried for him and felt himself stiffen painfully in response. "Naomi..." he gasped, feeling her force her body to tighten harder around him, her compelling legs flex against him as she helped him thrust. Soon his own cry joined with hers and he rammed into her. His body convulsed and stilled over hers, their breaths mingling as they recovered. After, as they lay there momentarily spent, Naomi decided to give him her own reward for him for going beyond the call of duty...

Icheb glanced over at her when Naomi suddenly sat up over him. "Stay still," she told him, and he watched her crawl down his body. Icheb's heart began to hammer in his chest when she slid over his legs and took him in her hand, working to bring him back to stiff arousal. Icheb was the one to clench the sheets beneath him this time as she worked him hard. Clenching his teeth, his eyes widened a fraction when she slipped her mouth over him. He arched instinctively, and was surprised by the strength she used to force him back down on the bed. "Be still," she whispered against him. Icheb groaned and stiffened at the feel of her hot tongue on him. He employed every enhancement he could muster to obey her, staying as still as he could.

The combination of her skilled mouth and her dominance over him nearly made him explode, but he didn't wish it to be this way. Perhaps it was his practical upbringing, maybe, despite the improbability and complications between them, it was his instinctive need to spread his species in an area of the galaxy devoid of his kind. Whatever it was, Icheb felt an unbelievable urge to fill her welcoming womb and it forced him to pull her mouth away from him. "What's wrong?" Naomi asked, her voice out of breath.

Nearly losing his mind with need, Icheb could only shake his head, unable to properly explain his desire. "Nothing is wrong," he said simply as he pulled her around onto her knees, his hand firm over her back as he settled over her. Naomi shuddered at the familiar position and held still as he reached between her legs to sink into her aching folds while he pushed into her. Naomi lost her breath and gasped when he pushed her deeper into the bed and drove into her with passionate abandon, each strike emphasized by deliberate strokes of his efficient digits on her. Soon they were both shouting in exaltation as their pleasure synchronized with exhilarating accuracy.

Once the unyielding realm of pleasure dissipated enough, they lay there for only a moment to catch their breaths before Icheb once again nudged Naomi over. He slid his hands over her legs, pulling them over his hips again while he leaned in to sink his burning tongue into her waiting mouth. Naomi held his cheeks, pouring her fierce love for him into the sensual kiss, hugging him close. Naomi felt him begin to stir again, as inhumanly rapidly as was usual for him, and knew this was going to be a very long night.

The celebration lasted for another day, allowing the couple to be together for another blissful night. That weekend would be filled with family and friends at nearly every waking hour and little chance for them to sneak off. They knew they had limited time together and made the most of it. The rest of the week was filled with Naomi and Icheb doing everything they could to focus on their responsibilities. While Naomi worked harder than she ever had in her studies, Icheb felt as though something was about to happen, at least to him, all week he had been seeing Admirals and Ambassadors going in and out of the academy. He had also heard his name and Voyager mentioned a few times, so he knew sooner or later they would approach him, no doubt with another mission.

One solid week later, his suspicions were confirmed as he was once again called to the dean's office. Once he stepped into the office, the dean left him with Admirals Chekov and Picard, and the Vulcan ambassador he learned was Spock. He should have recognized him before, Kirk's right-hand and closest friend. Icheb had admired Spock's staunch logical approach to dire situations and had tried on many occasions to emulate what he could. "Admirals," he greeted them, then turned to Spock. "Ambassador, it is an honor to officially meet you," he said, standing straighter in the presence of a legend.

"Likewise. It is not often a species other than Vulcan has caught the attention of the council. Your contributions are impressive," the Vulcan mentioned in a usual calm and collected tone as was usual for half of his heritage.

"I was merely doing my duty, sir," Icheb insisted.

"And that duty has warranted the opportunity to go above and beyond what we were previously capable of," Chekov said, sharing a look with his old friend and nodding in understanding when the Vulcan gave a slight inclination of his head. "We called you in to offer you another very important mission," he said then, his thick Russian accent accentuated by the seriousness of the situation.

Icheb heard the tone and his head tilted his question. "What is it, sir?"

"With the success of the wormhole device and possibility to travel to other parts of the galaxy unhindered by time and distance, the council has decided it would be prudent to sending Voyager back to the Delta Quadrant," Picard explained.

"To what end?" Icheb asked, resting his hands behind his back as he glanced at each of them expectantly.

"Kathryn Janeway has made many enemies during the trek back home," Chekov said severely, though his tone was tainted with the fond look in his eye. "She had, however, also made a great deal of allies as well. Your mission, should you accept it, will be to go back there and meet with those allies. This is not simply a diplomatic mission, Captain Hansen, but an opportunity for the Federation to spread to other parts of the galaxy. You will be given a year to meet with each allied species and invite them into the Federation, should they meet specific guidelines and qualifications."

"Hopefully one day we may be able to establish a permanent wormhole into the Delta Quadrant, perhaps using the transwarp conduits to aid in the effort," Spock mentioned.

"With all due respect, sirs. The Borg are still very much a real threat. I do not believe using the conduit at this point would be wise... not until we can be sure they would not threaten it," Icheb argued, rubbing his thumb over his other hand to calm himself. The thought of having to go up against the Borg again both scared him and made him eager, his desire to destroy all of them very great.

"We are aware of the dangers, Captain. It does however hold promise for the future, once our enemy is properly dealt with. For now however, the representative of the Federation in the Delta Quadrant would be the first step into unifying the galaxy. This is a very important mission, are you willing to take the responsibility?" Picard questioned, leveling the young man with a critical stare.

Icheb's jaw squared and eyes hardened in determination. "Yes sir, I am willing," he answered. The responsibility, while undeniably daunting, was a major opportunity to not only test his skills, train them further, but also for him to face his demons and prove he was worthy of being a Captain. "I accept the mission." The three men nodded in approval and went over the details with him, explaining everything he needed to know, who would be aiding him, what he needed to say, how he would organize the diplomatic meetings, and the tactical measures he would have to employ should the need arise.

When Icheb returned to his classes, he was distracted the entire day, though he made his usual efforts to teach as best as he could. When classes were finally over, he found himself reaching out to Naomi, emailing her, needing to see her and talk to her about this. He knew it was risky, but perhaps with a disguise and stealthy enough tactics, she could make it to his apartment undiscovered and they could talk. He knew he could have simply just emailed her the details, but he needed to see her, needed to hear her gentle voice, feel her soothing presence.

When she arrived, disguised as he predicted she would be, he let her in and they sat down on his couch. Icheb went over the mission with her, telling her as much as he could without breaking secrecy, though he knew he could trust her with classified matters. Besides, Naomi would have been sneaky and skilled enough to find out one was or another, even if he didn't tell her. Once he was finished, Naomi grinned and told him how proud she was of him, how she had always admired him, and how she loved him.

Icheb was touched by her passionate sentiment, but could tell she was hiding pain behind her enthusiasm. She was worried. Icheb pulled her into his embrace and kissed her cheek soothingly. He told her that he had always been fond of her, it had grown into uncontrollable love over the past year and that he knew of her worry. "I promise with as much certainty as I can have over the situation that nothing will go wrong," he told her softly. "We'll see each other again."

Naomi blinked away tears and rested her cheek against his neck where she sat over his lap. "I suppose I'm an open book, huh? I just... I'm afraid we won't see each other again for another ten years or something.."

Icheb shook his head. "I will not allow that to happen. Naomi, I will return to you. In a year we will see each other again, I promise" he told her soothingly, kissing her hair.

"When do you ship off?" she asked him after a moment of collecting herself.

"In three days. Starfleet had concentrated on repairing Voyager for this mission so we're only waiting for last minute checks, arrival of crew, and... for them to have time to part from loved ones," he answered gently. Naomi's grip on him tightened and she shut her eyes again, willing the negative feelings to leave her. Everything would be fine, they would start the process of uniting the galaxy and he would return before she knew it. "I'll miss you," he whispered against her hair.

"Please don't say that," Naomi choked back a sob. "Please don't say goodbyes or that you'll miss me, it all sounds too final..."

"Alright," Icheb agreed, using his thumb to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Hey, when I return, we'll spend a week together, does that sound acceptable?" he suggested, trying to cheer her up.

"Sounds good," Naomi smiled through her tears, wiping at them and feeling annoyed with herself for childishly breaking down. "A week on Risa would be awesome," she grinned.

Icheb smiled softly and ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll see what I can do."

While they wanted nothing more than to spend the evening simply talking, spending time together, as they had many times before in the past, they knew it would be unusually risky for Naomi to stay. So after they spoke a little more, they reluctantly parted. T'Chea, who had awoken some time when Naomi had been gone with the need for tea, didn't say a word to her obviously distressed friend, merely smiled and tilted her head in greeting to her, offering her a cup of tea. Naomi gratefully took it and the girls enjoyed a quiet, companionship.

A few days later, Icheb and Naomi found themselves in spacedock, surrounded by friends and family there to see them off. The couple stood some ways apart, trying hard not to looks like lovers bidding each other a tearful goodbye, and nearly failing. Icheb and his closest officers received hugs and farewells from those not going on the mission. When it was Naomi's turn to hug Icheb, he smiled and whispered his love for her in her ear. "Look at it this way, our time apart will give you the chance to concentrate on the remainder of your studies. Without someone as irresistible as me to distract you, that is," he grinned, hoping to bring a smile to her face.

Naomi laughed at his attempt to sound like his second in command and nodded. "You're right. I won't let you down, _sir_ ," she grinned as they pulled away. "Icheb," she said then, uncaring if those around them heard her. "Don't make... us wait another seven years for Voyagers return. Come back."

Icheb held her gaze and nodded. "We will return," he promised her. Neither of them noticed the sympathetic looks from their friends around them. It was only a moment longer before his shuttle arrived and the group that remained behind watched the official Captain of Voyager, the last passenger to the ship, make his way. While Naomi was pulled into a hug from Kathryn, Icheb used the time relatively alone to collect himself, psych himself for the mission and convince himself that everything would turn out as well as he promised Naomi.

Once he stepped onto the ship, he made his way to the bridge, receiving cheerful, though slightly apprehensive greetings from familiar crew that he passed. As soon as he stepped onto the bridge, Tuvok announced his arrival. "Captain on the bridge," he said sternly. The bridge crew stood and turned to him at attention.

"At ease," he said softly, smiling to them. He walked over to his seat and nodded toward Tom when the older man slapped his shoulder lightly in a friendly, comradely way. "Ensign Flores, take us out," Icheb commanded. As Voyager reached the rendezvous point, they met with two other ships. Alongside Voyager was the Luna-class starship Titan commanded by Captain William T. Riker, and the multi-vector assault ship Prometheus commanded by Captain Cassini, both ships tasked to aid Voyager with the mission.

During that year, Naomi missed Icheb more than she ever thought she could, the part of her soul that belonged to him contained tightly in an outwardly steeled facade. Her worry that something from the many enemies they had made in the Delta Quadrant, including the ever present threat of the Borg, often times kept her up at night. While Voyager now had the capability to easily and quickly transmit data, including mail, from the Delta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant with the use of her modifications, it still did not make their distance any easier. Throughout the year they sent each other mail, explaining their adventures and misadventures, while desperately trying to keep their longing for each other out of their words.

" _It's amazing how much smaller the galaxy seems with the device,"_ Icheb had said during one of his first emails. _"We have made contact with two of our allies so far, each separated by a vast distance, but with the wormhole device and knowledge of their locations through our astrometrics lab, we are able to instantly reach them. The only thing that takes time is the delegations between our represented governments."_ Naomi understood that it wouldn't have been as simple as hoping from one corner of the galaxy to the next and simply saying 'join us' and then hopping to the other. It was only wishful thinking that it would have been that easy. Icheb had explained in further detail how tedious the process was, some of their allies having outright refused such a commitment, but it was rewarding when one of them agreed and sat down with them.

" _During out diplomatic efforts, I had the chance to meet our mission diplomat, counselor 'Troi'. To be honest, I do not understand what it is about them, but Betazoids have always troubled me. I have too much darkness within me, I don't like the idea of them being in my head, able to tell whatever mood I'm currently in even if I'm not presently in the room. It is disconcerting."_ Naomi could certainly understand his reservation, but she had met Riker-Troi herself and had found her to be a positively lovable person. Naomi knew how sensitive Icheb was about his past though, and with the recent events with the Borg invasion, it had just exacerbated his deep-seeded wounds.

As the year went by, his messages became a little more playful. Either he was trying to ease some of his stress away with humor, or things were going better than expected.

" _Would you believe if I told you that Tuvok requested a station transfer to the Titan? I hated to see him go, but Captain Riker was in need of an experienced tactical officer and I decided I didn't mind looking over Lieutenant Reed for him. It's strange looking over at tactical and not seeing Tuvok's familiar scowl."_ Naomi had to laugh at this, knowing exactly what Icheb was talking about.

" _Our three ships often trade crew members to further facilitate our camaraderie and get varied training on different ship configurations and methods. It is only a problem when things start to get too... personal. I had to discipline many officers in just the first few months of our journey. I must admit however that chiding them over inappropriate public displays of affection made me think of you._ " Naomi grinned, feeling her heart speed up a little. " _Not to imply you were ever inappropriate. I'm afraid I'm at fault for that. Scolding them made me feel a little bit like a hypocrite."_ Naomi rolled her eyes. They never did anything in public, they always waited to be alone to _engage_ in _affection_. Leave it to Icheb to feel unnecessarily guilty.

" _While the ship itself was a technological wonder to tour, I can not tell you the amount of times I had to separate the doctor from the EMH mark two from the Prometheus. I have never seen two holograms argue so viciously before, and I am fairly certain it was their way of being friendly."_ Naomi had once or twice encountered a mark two during her time in basic training. They seemed a bit friendlier with their patience, but to her they seemed like dorks and couldn't hold a candle to Voyager's MKI.

" _We encountered a Hirogen hunting ship a few days ago. I do not believe they had expected our ships to be as upgraded as they had. A few choice shots of our cannons and we were able to disable them before they became a problem. The Prometheus served to intimidate a few other threats with its multi-vector assault mode. It is quite an impressive sight to behold! Later that day we found ourselves passing by the formation of a star, it was truly beautiful... I only wish you were here to witness it with me."_ Naomi wiped at a stray tear from her cheek and smiled sadly but knew that soon they would have adventures of their own.

After reading Icheb's emails each time he sent them, Naomi sent her own, detailing her own journey over the year, adventures and misadventures. She explained how it wasn't the same there without him. While their new Astrometrics teacher was not Matthews, the instructor was not as engaging as Icheb had been. Still, she gotten through her classes in rapid order, impressing the instructor enough to be asked to be the new TA. Further than that, Naomi had been given the chance to intern aboard the USS Lincoln, the Akira-class heavy cruiser under another supervisor. She told him that it simply wasn't the same without Jeremiah being snarky and barking orders at her. Naomi told him that she had managed to impress her and even the Captain. Captain Garcia asked if she wanted to serve aboard the Lincoln next year, but Naomi had to decline, her heart set on Voyager.

Icheb had read over her letters with as much longing and enthusiasm, feeling more pride in Naomi than he ever had. She was giving everything she had into the academy. Naomi Wildman had always had an aptitude to learn quickly and showed a great deal of mental acuity at a tender age. He had known she would strive for the very best and the fact that she was succeeding, served to ease his heart. In a year she would be an Ensign and they would be able to be together at a more official capacity. Without _protocol_ in the way... maybe she would be amendable to spending more time with him? More than friends, more than lovers... he intended on spending forever with her, if she would have him.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N:** Long chapter to make up for the long wait! Sorry 'bout that! Kathryn/Chakotay fans should be happy with this chapter lol. You know who you are! Yes yes rant and rave at me that Spock wouldn't be around but whatever, Sarek was around to speak with Picard and all them, so I figured since Spock is much younger he'd be around now. Besides, I wanted to honor Leonard Nimoy's memory. May his soul rest in peace. This chapter was influenced by "Way Back Home" by Bag Raiders, love scene influenced by "All Those Moments" by Mooryc.

 **NOTE:** Again, I have some responsibilities I need to take care of so it may be a little bit before I can update again, but I _AM_ working on the next chapter, don't worry. Input over the story so far will be of great encouragement and greatly appreciated though!

Shout-Outs

 **Jon Voris:** Lol you're funny. I'm very happy you enjoyed this so far! I think you're reading into it too far lol Icheb had assured Naomi that without specific intervention, it would be very difficult for them to have a baby. Sabrina from the last episode of Voyager may make an appearance... maybe not in this story, but in a possible sequel. In my head-canon, she's their kid hehe, though I may or may not have some interesting plans for her.

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** No lol not a prequel. However, a lot of parallels are inevitable, since the same people and similar circumstances exist in both universes. I may or may not use a lot more references in the possible sequel though...

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you! I like his playful side too!


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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Naomi Wildman would have been having a great day, really she would... if not for the tactical drill instructor screaming at her.

"You call that running, Cadet? My grandma can run faster than you and she's ninety years old! Move like you mean it! Get that ass to that obstacle! Move! Move! Move!" Naomi felt her lungs burn as she used her years worth of physical conditioning to hurtle over the obstacles in her path. Naomi Wildman was running a course with a tactical officer by her side, getting her to run faster.

Naomi was being trained past the limitations of a normal cadet. She huffed and puffed as she ran, carrying a backpack full of weights and dodging the obstacles. The instructor had her ducking behind 'cover', pulling out her heavy training rifle to 'fire' at the 'targets' while missing 'civilians' and sprint to the next obstacle. The instructor yelled in her ear, trying to distract her, pushing her down, all the while sounds of gun fire, screams, and distractions were all around her. But Naomi lifted herself back up and ignored it all, focusing on her mission.

Since beginning her new year at the academy at the aftermath of the Born crisis she had been doing all she could to reach her stacked goals. Three months after starting her year, Admiral Pavel Chekov approached her with an offer. He had developed an early entry special officer training program and she had impressed enough to be asked to join it. It was developed shortly after Icheb had proven to the brass that with enough drive you could go above and beyond what was expected of you at the academy, like he had and made Captain early. Accepting the offer, Naomi set on her course to reach her dreams of serving on the bridge of a starship.

It was hard work!

When she wasn't tasked with triple the amount of studying, she was being pushed beyond her physical limits through grueling training, often times breaking her more than building her. It wasn't often, but on occasion she found herself returning to her dorm either crying that she couldn't do it, or so wound up she snapped at everyone. She would return bearing fresh injuries, broken bones, sleepless eyes, or even just mental strain. Every time though, she had, often impatient, friends to set her straight, remind her of her goals, remind her who was waiting for her at the end. It was all she needed. Just the thought of making Icheb proud of her, seeing his ruggedly handsome face grin at her for reaching her goals was enough for her to keep going.

And so Naomi went on, day by day she threw herself into the program, accepting more and more laborious assignments, going past what she thought she could physically do and each time meeting the approval of the board studying the progress of the candidates. Years of physical pain in her eyes, Naomi found herself brought out of her thoughts and back to her task at hand.

After a long, harrowing, sleepless, painful, lonely year, she had finally reached her last tactical battlefield test. The officer beside her ran the test with her, doing everything he could to distract her, to tear her down, to mentally take her off balance, make the test as difficult as he could. The test took place in a massive complex with a group of other candidates all working to pull through it. It was dark, only the glaring red emergency lighting there to help, barely piercing the darkness. There was 'atmospheric' smoke and sounds of weapons fire, screaming, or other eerie sounds to make it more difficult. The test was as much physically and mentally challenging as it was psychology.

Still Naomi pushed through, still she forced her burning lungs to pump oxygen into her bloodstream, still she demanded her aching muscles to carry her through, still she held onto her resolve and fought through the obstacles in her way. She would do it. She would defeat the test and win her right to be a tactical officer. While she loved working in astrometrics, her ultimate goal had always been and would always be the bridge. For now though, the program would open more doors for her to eventually reach those goals. In the end, Naomi Wildman made it, like she always did when she fought hard enough for something. Icheb had once said she was every bit as stubborn as he was... and he was right.

That evening, T'Chea heard the familiar sluggish footsteps of their roommate returning. It was later than usual, but today had been a special day and she was eager to hear the results of her final trial. "Hannah, Naomi's back, would you help her in?" the Romulan asked as she set off to prepare soothing tea.

Hannah looked up from her studies and glanced at the door. "I wish I had your sense of hearing," she smiled and got up, rushing over and opening the door. As her roommate promised, there Naomi was, looking more worn, dirty, and in pain that she ever saw her. It would have caused her alarm if it hadn't been for the supremely satisfied look in her eyes, the little, tired smile peeking her chapped lips up.

"I finished it... it's done..." Naomi murmured in a drawn-out, exhausted tone.

Hannah stepped over to her quickly, catching her before the younger woman could collapse onto the floor. "Naomi! Come on, T'Chea is making you tea. Do you need me to break out the heating pad?" she asked. The groan of pain was all the full-blooded human needed. Helping her to the couch, Hannah made sure her friend wasn't about to fall off of it and went over to the medical cabinet.

"So how was it? Do you know if you passed yet?" T'Chea asked, sitting on the chair opposite of her while she waited for the tea to brew. It didn't matter how technology advanced they were, a good cup of nourishing tea always, always needed time and care to infuse properly.

Naomi didn't so much as shake her head as rock her shoulders slightly, forcing her head to make the dismissive gesture. "Not sure..." Naomi muttered and T'Chea almost winced at how pitiful her friend looked. "Will know... in a few minutes... they need to get all the results into the system... before they can all be analyzed."

"How do you think you did?" Hannah asked, nudging her friend over to help her apply the heating pad.

Naomi turned slightly and sighed in relief when the soothing heat of the medical device did its job. "Oh I know I passed it. I made sure of it," Naomi mentioned softly. She didn't need the final report to tell her what she already knew. She had gone beyond the parameters, completed every course, and defended every 'civilian', eliminated every 'threat', achieved every point, including bonus rounds. Naomi had impressed even her distracting instructor, who simply grunted and gave her a little smile when she finished. Naomi hadn't had any intention of impressing anyone, only wanted to finish it and complete the test with a full score. Only her goals were in mind, not the pride of victory. She would only allow herself to feel pride once she made it, once she was commanding her own ship. Until then, these were mere stepping stones and methods to reaching her goals.

Naomi Wildman was not an oracle, she was not a psychic, but she had correctly predicted her success, having known she would receive full marks, even before she began her final test. With the right state of mind before she even began, telling herself in her mind that she would succeed, having enough faith in herself, Naomi had created her own fate and proved herself right.

Now she stood among the other cadets, ready to receive the right and honor of graduating from tactical officer training. This ceremony was held a week before graduation. Naomi felt as though her face would break with how much strain she was employing to not grin like an idiot. She had made it! She had done it! The completion of the program ensured her early graduation and her subsequent promotion to officer status. When she graduated, she would bypass crewman status and earn her first pip, earn her first rank as an officer ahead of the average Starfleet officer. In a few weeks, Icheb would return and she would have the chance to officially join the crew. She was going home! Of course Admiral Janeway had been there, even Seven of Nine! Her parents had been able to ask for leave from their station at Deep Space Nine to stay for the important events as well, making the half human feel very blessed. Naomi only wished Icheb could be there.

That evening, Naomi's brow rose when her father pulled out a bottle of Ktarian Champagne. They had all convened at Janeway's apartment that weekend after the ceremony. Chakotay was there if course, even Seven had agreed to go, despite slight the conflict of seeing her former lover with his new love. Still, Seven cared for both Chakotay and Kathryn and knew of their strained history to be upset with either of them. She and Chakotay hadn't worked out in the end, but they didn't let it keep them from being friends. In the end, it worked out for everyone, Seven was able to concentrate on Icheb and her science career, and Chakotay and Kathryn finally gave in to their two decade worth of repressed feelings for each other. In the end, everyone was content with their choices and their friendship was all the stronger for it. At the little gathering, even T'Chea and Hannah had been allowed to come. Kate had personally thanked the cadets for keeping Naomi going, making them both blush at the attention from the famed Admiral, even the normally stoic Romulan.

"But I'm not at drinking age yet?" Naomi protested weakly as her father poured her a glass. He didn't need to know she had been drinking way before the proper age already, though she had a feeling he knew.

"You think I don't know how it is at the academy?" Greskrendtregk's already prominent brow ridge lifted. Naomi had the decency to blush in embarrassment. "Besides, not only are you way past the age on Ktaris, as a half human I think nineteen is old enough. Besides, if you're old enough to nearly die in an interstellar battle against the most feared enemy of the Federation, you're old enough for a little buzz," he argued. "Right, Admiral?" He turned to level a questioning look at Janeway.

"Absolutely!" Kate agreed readily. "Live a little, that's an order, _Ensign_..." she grinned.

Naomi smiled, feeling properly satisfied by the answers she received and accepted the glass. "I'm not an Ensign quite yet, Kate," Naomi grinned.

"All those ceremonies are just pomp and circumstance. I'm an admiral, if I say you're an Ensign, then damn it, you're an Ensign!" Kate grinned back. Normally she didn't feel the need to curse, but perhaps the unusually strong effects of the Ktarian blend of ceremony alcohol was getting to her. Or maybe she was a little sick of being prim and proper all the time. After what she had been through, she felt she deserved to let her hair down.

Naomi nodded and smiled in appreciation. "Whatever you say, ma'am!" she answered. After a little bit of mingling, Chakotay heard Naomi mentioning to her roommates how weird it was goint to be to graduate completely ahead of them. The other girls brushed it aside and told her how proud they were of her, how they envied her extraordinary opportunity and wished her the best.

Feeling like they deserved it, Chakotay turned to all of them and grinned. "I say we make a toast," he suggested, looking over at the cadets in the room. "To the ambitious youths among us, our future Captains and Admirals. The group lifted their glasses then, ready to accept the tradition. Chakotay went on. "To the future journeys of these stalwart cadets. May they reach their dreams and find everything they're looking for in life," he said.

"To the journey!" Kate agreed, lifting her glass higher, repeating the words she had said years ago.

"To the journey!" everyone cheered.

One week later, Naomi Wildman once again found herself attending a festive ceremony. Everyone dressed formally, every cadet bearing their graduation colors. Naomi stood with her group, the ones that had made it through the special tactical officer training program, having earned honors above the average cadet. Her name was called and she made her way up, telling herself that she would walk steady, that she would complete the rite with poise and dignety. Naomi's belief in herself proved to carry her through without a hitch. Smiling and taking the hand of the presenting admiral, bearing the cheers around her. Naomi graduated with yellow colors, bearing her mark as an engineer, specializing in long range advanced tactical sensors and interstellar cartography. After accepting her ceremonial diploma, having pictures taken, shaking hands, and receiving many hugs and kisses, Naomi's trying year was finally to an end.

After completing her final responsibilities, meeting her requirements, bidding her friends and classmates goodbye, Naomi returned home alone while her parents were off planet, to their house, while she waited for her orders. She had been given leave to celebrate and relax. Then she would be allowed to apply to any starship with an available opening... but as always, her heart was firmly set on Voyager, so she waited. And then the day finally came. Naomi had received word that Voyager and her escorts were returning that afternoon, having completed their mission and only stopping for a security sensor sweep and inspection from their trip.

Naomi shot up from bed as soon as her senses registered her alarm, nearly tripping on her way to the bathroom, exasperated at how clumsy she suddenly was, even after all her tactical physical honing. But then... Icheb had always made her lose her balance, made her knees weak and proper senses slip from her grasp. The excitement she felt at finally seeing him again after an entire year apart was almost enough to choke her. She missed him with crippling ferocity. The idea of soon feeling his strong arms around her again nearly made her whimper.

Rushing to get ready, Naomi only spared enough time to bathe, groom as quickly as she could, and snatch a protein bar. She spent the rest of her time driving her dad's speeder to the shuttle station. She knew that she was ahead of schedule by a few hours, but the need to be at Stardock was irresistible. And so Naomi found herself in the vast space station with others either eager to see loved ones, or anxious to go on their own ships. Or simply there on leave.

As it were, Naomi sat at one of the corner tables at the club, trying to avoid being hit on by one of those on leave officers. Maybe it had been a mistake to go there, but she had wanted some fun and distraction as she waited. When someone made yet another pass at her, Naomi decided to wait in the lounge instead. Anyway, she now only had to wait an hour so it wasn't so bad.

As she sat and waited, she counted the seconds, her view of the docking ports visible at her vantage point, the massive hanger displaying many of the already docked ships of all shapes and sizes. Stardock was an impressive station, sleek and sexy in design, with tasteful decorations, smooth panels, cathedral size ceilings, elegant banners, majestic fountains, vast shops, and even an exchange, requisition and bank. It was fully decked out with everything you could possibly ask for, but at the moment Naomi wasn't interested in any of that. Many times Naomi had heard announcements of arriving ships, and each time her heart sprinted and then fell flat on its metaphoric face when it wasn't her ship.

Finally though, she heard the divine announcement that the Titan, Prometheus, and Voyager had arrived. Naomi quickly made her way to the information screen, scanning it to see which port Voyager was docking to, then rushed to the lifts to get to that deck. It would still take a little time for the ship to secure docking, power down, prepare for disembarking crew and for decontamination procedures to be done. Every minute that passed was more frustrating than the next and the half Ktarian felt her already narrow hold on her patience thinning. Surely it wouldn't take _that_ long for five hundred plus crew members to be processed, right?

Naomi all but paced, though resisted wearing a hole into the crisp clean carpeting of the arrival waiting area. When the gate finally opened, Naomi held perfectly still, scanning the crowd for the bridge crew. They would be last to disembark along with the engineering team, to ensure last minute checks of the ship, that everything was in order. Nearly half an hour later, she saw Harry's jet black hair and heard Tom's barking laughter. They stopped by her, hugging her and congratulating her, but Tom seemed to know that Naomi was waiting mostly for the Captain, so as soon as he appeared, Tom guided the bridge crew away, pulling his friends to the club for some down time before their shuttles home arrived.

Icheb made a beeline straight to Naomi, the evidence of him trying to hide a grin very clear in his expression, his eyes crinkling with glee. Naomi resisted running up and jumping on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and never letting go... but she knew they couldn't make a scene, not with so many people around them. It was then Naomi noticed the slight scruff over his jawline, peeking up just below his bottom lip and she had to wonder what made him feel the need to grow the neatly kept beard. Even so, it looked unreasonably attractive on him, giving him an even more rugged appearance. When Icheb stopped two feet away from her then, it was everything they could do to not give in to their need to reunite properly. Instead, Icheb gestured for Naomi to follow and walked with her to a conference room silently.

Once they found an empty one with no windows, Icheb shut and locked the door. As soon as he turned, he felt Naomi's hands pull on him, yanking him down to her level to kiss her. Icheb grinned into the kiss and they nearly moaned as their eager tongues met after a year apart. Icheb's hands went around her body, pulling her close while she messed his hair up with her searching fingers. Feeling her resistance leaving her, Naomi found herself leaping up onto him, wrapping her legs around his middle. Icheb caught her light body, his hands sliding over her behind, gripping her tightly, making her lose her breath as he set her atop the sturdy conference table. "I missed you... so much..." Icheb groaned, laying her on her back over it. He slid up to her, his legs pressing against the edge as he settled between her legs.

Naomi's eyes fluttered slightly at the feel of him pressing into her, the repressed need for him roaring to life, needing to be attended. But here? Now? "So much..." she agreed, her hand slipping over to his neck as he leaned into her, unzipping her uniform, pausing only a second to grin proudly at the Ensign rank over her collar, before brushing it aside and molding his mouth over the contours of her neck. When Naomi felt his hands on her hips then, spreading her legs a little wider so he could grind into her, she remembered where they were. "Icheb... I... want very badly to properly _reunite_ with you... but here?" she questioned distractedly.

Icheb pulled away slightly, his heavy-lidded eyes regarding her for a moment. "The door displays an 'in use' sign when it is locked. No one will bother us. This will _not_ take long," he promised her, reaching over to open her pants. He slid them down and she kicked out of them.

Leaning in again, Naomi felt herself shudder in eager anticipation, her heart on a marathon, her skin tingling, heat flushing through her as his hand slid in between her thighs. "Well if you put it that way..." she gasped.

When he felt what he needed to know, he smiled and pulled her remaining barrier off. "I'm proud of you," he said then, nuzzling her jaw with his cheek. "You deserve a reward for your promotion," he whispered, leaning over so he could look into her eyes while his fingers searched, stroked, teased her mercilessly. His other hand unzipped her uniform jacket and slipped under her shirt. "Naomi, open your eyes," he requested gently when the ecstasy he forced onto her made her shut her eyes tightly, little gasps from his efforts making him harden painfully. "I haven't seen your beautiful eyes in too long..." he murmured lovingly, leaning in a little more.

Naomi couldn't contain the little cry of pleasure from escaping her as he found where she needed him most and ruthlessly exploited it. With his other hand caressing her swells, he held her still, slipping a finger, followed by another. As soon as she began to writhe beneath him, he pulled away, making her gasp. Icheb quickly unfastened his own pants and removed the irritating obstacle keeping himself from her.

Pulling her closer by the hips, his body ran flush into hers, squeezing in with a relishing, swift motion, making them both release a heavy breath of exquisite satisfaction as they finally rejoined after much too long. Naomi could feel the tightly contained power within him, threatening to explode, and ached badly for it... but she needed to feel the connection first, missed him too terribly to let this end too quickly.

"Wait," Naomi said breathlessly, holding her hand on his arm, imploring him to pause. "Just... I want to feel you for a moment," she sighed, her hand reaching up to caress his jaw, stroking her fingers through his attractive trimmed scruff. Icheb trembled as he held still, but did as she bid, leaning into her touch, kissing her palm. "I love you," she cooed, reaffirming her feelings for him.

"I love _you_ ," Icheb reflected back, leaning down to take her lips with his. "Trillions of beautiful galactic wonders... ancient civilizations... marvels of the universe... and all I wanted to see... was you..." he murmured between kisses. They spent the next few moments, kissing, caressing each other, rediscovering each other, reconnecting.

And then he felt her legs around him tighten, pulling him closer, and that was all the encouragement he needed. Icheb tisked. "All that work I did to get you excited... now I'll have to do it all over again," he chided playfully, reaching down between their joined bodies. "Maybe I should punish you for distracting me, pull you over the table and take you from behind, make you test the limits of the auditory proofing around the room," he growled teasingly.

"Ohh..." Naomi's eyes shut again, a full body shiver from how devastatingly arousing his words and tone was flowing through her. Where had he learned to speak like that? He had always been so... _Icheb_ when he spoke, now suddenly he was speaking dirty? Just what kind of people did he meet and spend time with during that year? Or was Tom's influence starting to rub off on him?

Icheb sighed when he wasn't getting the results he wanted. She was distracted, no doubt thinking too much. He would correct the problem. Pulling out of her just enough to let her still feel him, Icheb set off to slowly work her into a frenzy, his skilled fingers finding just the right angle, just the right pressure to make her lose her breath and her mind to go blank. He would agonize over her sensitive flesh until she was twisting in his arms, begging for him. Perhaps this would take a little longer than he first predicted, after all. He slipped in a digit, pumping slowly, rhythmically, joined with his ceaseless strokes of his thumb over her trembling core.

Soon he felt himself smile as she began reacting the way that pleased him. He watched as she bit her lip hard, doing all she could to not scream, her head rolling to the side, her grip on the edge of the table making her knuckles white, whimpers and cries escaping her despite her attempts to remain silent. Icheb pulled his hand away again and resumed his earlier position, sliding into her welcoming body, watching her shudder, her legs shaking around his hips. He released a hiss of pleasure while Naomi's back bowed, her breasts pressing into his own chest. The sound of her moaning his name was music to his ears.

Icheb had plans other than this though, and knew they couldn't stay here too long. He needed them to reach their finish quickly, had things he wanted to reveal to her. So as soon as they readjusted, he began to rock into her, releasing the power he contained, keeping her still over the edge of the table, using the leverage he had to ram into her, grinding his body into hers, providing that extra bit of friction to drive her wild in a matter of seconds. Icheb braced himself over the table, his hands on either side of her, fingers spread apart as he delivered one heart-stopping thrust after another, moaning with each drive.

In no time at all the woman beneath him began to sing. The inescapable rush of ecstasy plowing through her like a plasma storm, lighting her on fire, forcing her to lock up around his length hard. Naomi cried out mutely through tightly clenched teeth as her world became an inferno, searing rapture overcoming her with a tormenting vengeance. The force of her climax, tightening punishingly around his pummeling body forced Icheb's own release to grip him in a vice, making him choke out a hoarse, gasping groan of voracity, not wanting to test the limits of the room either. The force of his ravenous shoving slowed until he was compelled to hold still within her, letting himself relax all the way. They held each other tightly, panting from the power of their synchronized release.

Once they recovered enough, Icheb slid away and helped her pull their clothes back on. Once they were again properly dressed, they glanced back at the table. It was marred with sweat, but fortunately nothing else. Breathing a sigh of relief they grinned at each other, reaching until they were in each others arms again, holding tightly. "Come on, I need to show you something on Voyager," Icheb whispered in her ear.

After wiping the table with water and napkins that sat on a little table to the side, figuring that was the best they could do for the moment, they made their way out, making sure no one was nearby before sneaking out.

It took a bit of a process to get back onto the ship, but once they had, Icheb led her to his ready-room, grinning nearly from ear to ear in excitement at her reaction. "Icheb, what is it?" Naomi asked, surprised by the level of enthusiasm he was projecting. Once they stepped in, however, she knew why he had been so eager. Standing at the far end, looking out into Stardock from the large window, was a very familiar now much slimmer looking Talaxian. " _Neelix_!" Naomi cried in surprised happiness.

Neelix spun around and laughed joyfully, moving over to catch her as Naomi ran up to him. "Naomi! Oh Naomi it is so good to finally be able to hug you!" he laughed, holding his goddaughter tightly. "Look at you!" he gushed as they pulled away a bit. "The video transmissions just didn't do you justice! You've grown into such a beautiful young woman!"

Naomi blushed at the complement. "Thank you... and look at you! Did you lose weight?"

"I did! Dexa got me into an exercise regime... apparently I couldn't fit well into my ceremonial groom robes," he smiled. "Does me good anyway, I feel stronger and healthier! And it helps me keep up with Brax and our newest addition to the family, little Alixia," he grinned.

"Oh! That's right! You named your daughter after your oldest sister, right?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Yes, in honor of her memory. So far the name suits little Ali very well," Neelix smiled fondly.

"Neelix, I love that you're here, but when..?"

Neelix understood her question and smiled broadly, glancing over at the silent young Captain. "A couple months ago, I was more than a little surprised to hear a call coming in from Voyager! To my surprise, it wasn't Captain Janeway that appeared on the screen, but Captain _Icheb_! If you can imagine, I was more than a little speechless! Imagine that, shy, skinny young former drone Icheb, a confident, strapping, sharp Captain!" Neelix clapped Icheb across the back amiably.

When Naomi saw Icheb nearly puff with male pride at the compliment, she rolled her eyes. "Please Neelix," she sighed playfully. "Don't stroke Icheb's ego any more than it already is..." she mentioned. When she saw his brow raise and a knowing smirk appraise his handsome face, she felt herself flush.

Neelix caught the exchange, saw the subtle though obviously suggestive flirtatious looks they gave each other and blinked in surprise. "What-ah... what else changed?" he asked curiously, looking from one to the other. While they kept themselves at a respectable distance, Neelix could almost sense the tension between them. The two noticed how he was looking at them and then both of them blushed in embarrassment.

"It's... supposed to stay between us, but since most of the original crew seems to know anyway, and you're part of that group, I guess there's no harm in you knowing, right Icheb?" Naomi glanced over to her Captain. When he smiled and nodded she looked back to Neelix and grinned. "We reunited almost two years ago at the academy. We were drawn to each other in a way we couldn't ignore or deny."

"We're a couple, but we're keeping it mostly a secret for now," Icheb added. "Things are still a little complicated with regulations, but... we can not keep away from each other," he murmured, his eyes catching Naomi's and holding her gaze.

Neelix resisted gawking in shock as he saw the clear affection in their eyes. Imagine that, little Naomi and unsure Icheb, grew into confident, capable adults, fell in love and were now fully courting each other! Would the surprises ever cease? "That's wonderful!" the Talaxian cried joyfully. He went over and hugged them both. "I am so happy for you!" he laughed, pulling away to grin again.

"Thank you, Neelix," Naomi smiled bashfully. "Hey um, I was wondering. Will you be here for the delayed ten year reunion?" she asked, too embarrassed by the gushing and needing to change the subject for a bit.

Neelix's gaze softened and he smiled affectionately. "Of course, Naomi, I wouldn't miss it for the universe," he promised, eagerly accepting another hug from her. They spoke a bit more as they made their way out, Icheb explaining how he had found the time to pick him up and offer him a visit to Earth, showing him around the new Voyager and explaining how the wormhole device worked. After securing the transport and escort to the guest quarters Neelix needed, the two left him to settle and rest from the trip.

That evening, Naomi and Icheb found themselves sitting on Icheb's couch at his apartment. "Have I thanked you yet for bringing Neelix?" Naomi asked with a grin.

Icheb smirked a little and playfully rolled his eyes. "Not at all, Naomi Wildman, not once today in the past five minutes."

"Has it really been that long? In that case, thank you, Icheb!" she grinned wider.

Icheb chuckled softly and gazed lovingly at her. "Call it a late birthday present if you wish," he suggested.

They settled in and simply spoke with each other, reveling in their voices and enjoying the easy, playful atmosphere between them. Icheb explained how with the help of their doctor, the mark two, Tuvok, and even Icheb's reluctant acceptance of counselor Riker-Troi's help had finally mended his mind. Naomi was thrilled to hear it and offered to be his ear for him if he ever needed someone to talk to. Icheb smiled affectionately and thanked her gratefully. Naomi then asked about his mission and they spoke of their friends and allies they made, how a lot of them accepted becoming part of the Federation, how they would be tasked with representing them in the Delta Quadrant before a permanent wormhole could be established, or perhaps the technology to jump between system to system could be more easily distributed. They spoke of how they missed each other, how their longing to be together had been painful.

"I threw myself into my work," Naomi told him. "I made sure I superseded every expectation Starfleet had and every one I had for myself as well. Most of the time I was too exhausted at night to have time to miss you... but I still dreamed of you."

Icheb slid closer and pulled her over onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "I ached for you every night," he sighed against her shoulder. "Every time I wrote to you I waited impatiently for your reply. Our video calls were even worse... I could see you but not touch you, not hold you..." he murmured. "Naomi Wildman, I don't _ever_ want us to be apart like that again..."

Naomi pulled away slightly to level him with an intense stare, wondering exactly what he meant by that. "Icheb, what are you saying?" she asked, her heart racing at the implications in his words.

Icheb leaned back to search her eyes, the determination very evident in his gaze and Naomi's heart only sped up. "Naomi I..." he frowned slightly, his tongue suddenly tied up. How could he possibly put into words what she meant to him? How could he accurately articulate his feelings and ask her to stay by his side for as long as time will allow them? Half of his soul was hers and he was suddenly overcome with those 'butterflies' the doctor had mentioned to him years ago.

As always, Naomi could read his eyes and knew instantly what he wanted to say. Her soul cried out in jubilation at what she discovered. "Icheb," she began with a slow grin, emotions thick in her voice.

Icheb was drawn by the misty sparkle in her expression. "...Yes?" he asked slightly distracted, feeling her fingers caressing his scalp.

"Just ask me to marry you," she told him with an exasperated, though very gleeful smile.

Icheb blinked back to reality and his eyes softened, grinning back, remembering the words he had wanted to say. "Naomi Wildman, ever since I met you, you've drawn me toward you like nothing else in my life ever has. Even as kids I felt a pull toward you. It might have been subtle then, but it can not be ignored now. I love you with every ounce of breath within me. If I had to give up the stars, the freedom of exploring the galaxy to be with you, I would without hesitation. I may not be Borg anymore, but my heart is still a simple machine, ...and you are its only power source. I fear it will need constant recharging... but if you are willing, would you carry the charge? Will you marry me?"

As a reply, Naomi tugged him to her, capturing his mouth with hers in a slow, meaningful kiss. Leave it to Icheb to sound both like a scientist and incredibly sweet at the same time. "Yes, Icheb Hansen. I will keep your heart charged. I will marry you," she said tenderly as they pulled away a little, their parted lips hovering centimeters away, resisting the magnetic need to devour each other again. "Icheb?" Naomi began after a moment, an elated smile still playing on her lips.

Icheb drew his fingers through her hair, messing up her neat bun. "Yes?"

"Ask me to stay?"

The former drone smiled softly at the familiar question. "Will you stay with me?"

Naomi stroked her fingers gently over his ocular implant. It had been almost two full years since they reunited and her love for him had only grown exponentially with each passing moment. Would she stay with him? "Forever," she whispered fervently, sinking into his loving arms.

 _TBC..._

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 **End A/N** : Yay Neelix! Yay quickies! ...Well, okay maybe not 'yay' but they needed it lol. This chapter was influenced by the song "Wait & See" by Holy Ghost!. The love scene was influenced by "Remain Nameless" by Florence and The Machine, though mostly for the hypnotic beat. I decided to give Icheb a bit of facial hair, to parallel him to his 'alternate' from the fan film Renegades. It may be important to later story development... also, the actor has facial hair so why not? Lol.

Shout-Outs

 **The Cheshire Cheese:** I'm glad you think so. Yeah I actually ship both. I prefer J/C because of the years of tension between both of them, but I like C7 just fine. I don't like any sort of character bashing, it's as disrespectful to the fandom as much as it is to the author that wrote them. That and it's completely unnecessary.

 **MissSarahG1:** You are most welcome!


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

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Early the next morning, Naomi Wildman opened her eyes, breathing in the comforting smell of _home_ around her. She tilted her head up to look upon the devastatingly good looks of her _fiance_ , who happened to be wide awake as usual and gazing right back at her. Icheb held a vibrantly adoring look in his eye, a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth, enticing her to lean over and kiss him.

"Good morning," Naomi said tenderly.

They remained silent for a moment, simply searching each others eyes. They faced each other in bed, their bodies angled toward one another. One of Icheb's arms was once again beneath Naomi's neck, cushioning her as a result. His other arm was draped over her hip, though he had slid his hand over her to stroke at her shoulder softly. One of Naomi's arms rested between them, bent up, tucked under his arm. Her other hand reached up to caress his cheek, sliding down to scratch at his jawline beard, her eyes crinkling with amusement at the almost cat-like appreciation at being scratched under his chin.

Icheb shut his eyes and released a content sigh through his nose, before he opened them again and smiled at her. "I could really get used to waking up like this more often," he murmured, sliding his hand over her neck to tangle into her silky red hair.

Naomi grinned slowly, still tracing his ruggedly handsome features. "I couldn't agree more." Even after their fiery night of _reconnecting_ , they were still starved for each other, still yearned for touch, to make sure they were really there, to make up for so many months apart.

"Then we should do something about it," he grinned back.

"Well, isn't asking me to _marry you_ doing something?" Naomi felt her facial muscles strain at the stretch of her wide smile, feeling her heart bursting with joy. She had always felt like their passionate relationship would one day end up in something like this, but she was still in awe about it all the same.

Icheb's eyes softened and he slid a little closer to her, their heads almost touching, his eyes boring into hers. "It's a start," he whispered tenderly. His arm beneath her pulled on her a little, taking her into his embrace.

Naomi sank into his warm body and felt more complete than she ever had in her life. "I missed you so much," she repeated to him, breathing in his scent, basking in his comforting hold.

Naomi had told him before how she had worked herself to exhaustion during that year without him, doing everything she could to reach her goals, but she hadn't explained how much it had taken her to focus. She would return home worn to the bone, only having the strength to talk with her friends a little before passing out, this was true. When she would sleep though, her dreams were filled with him, the repressed and contained feelings of missing him released as she slumbered. Sometimes she would wake up with a smile on her lips, sometimes she would have trouble focusing during the day from _certain_ dreams, but most often she would wake up with a deep longing, forced to set it aside to concentrate on her journey.

Icheb continued to draw his fingers through her hair and nuzzled her, understanding how deeply her feelings ran without needing to hear her elaborate. They held each other for a moment, simply laying, content to just be together for the moment. "I wish I could stay here all day with you," he mentioned softly.

Naomi shivered pleasantly a little, remembering the last time they had spent an entire day together in bed. "Why can't you?" she asked curiously. While she had suffered a bit of a limp for several days after, it had been _completely_ worth it and she certainly wouldn't mind putting up with a little bit of discomfort to have that level of connection with him again.

Icheb smiled, his hold tightening a little. "I need to report to Starfleet Command and get their blessing," he answered.

"You think it will be a problem?" Naomi craned her neck up to look at him.

Icheb shook his head subtly. "I do not believe so. Since you achieved the rank of Ensign, the risk of a reprimand for our relationship is far lessened. There _may_ be unfavorable outcomes as we pursue this, however..."

Naomi's frowned in concern, not liking the sound of that. "Such as?"

"Regulations state that to minimize the chances of showing favoritism, a couple may not go on missions together or serve too closely. Not only could it compromise delicate situations, but create dissension among the other officers. However, I do not believe they'll keep us apart, or really be able to control it, since my high rank allows me certain reprieves," he smirked slightly. "Sometimes being Captain has its advantages..." he drawled.

"Sometimes?" Naomi snorted softly, though she was amused by his cocky attitude.

Icheb's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Even so," he went on, sobering. "I must go and speak with them early. I should go so I don't have to wait too long behind other officers giving their own reports."

"How long do you expect it will take?" she asked.

Icheb shrugged as best he could in his position. "I don't know. Several hours probably."

Naomi sighed and nodded in understanding. "I'm not sure whether or not I should go back to my parents house. There isn't much for me there. Maybe I should go back to the academy, to office dossier registrations and officially sign on to Voyager... but I don't really want to leave either..." she smiled a little sheepishly. She knew she wouldn't be _imposing_ , staying at his apartment, he'd probably insist, but she didn't want to hang around and pine for his return either.

Icheb smiled back in amusement. "We all have a few days of leave. You don't have to get registered yet if you don't want to. I'd... like it if you stayed with me for the remainder of our little _vacation._ "

"Then it's settled," she grinned, knowing he'd want her to stay with him.

"You remember the lock code to my door, right?" Icheb asked teasingly as he sat up.

"Of course," Naomi answered. "How could I forget?"

"Then please don't spend all of your time waiting for me. Go out, have fun, and then if I return late, we can go out to dinner," Icheb smiled knowingly.

Naomi's brow hiked up even as her face split into another blinding grin. "Like an actual date?" she asked, unable to keep the excitement from her tone.

"I believe we will not have any obstacles anymore as officers. So yes, I am officially asking you on a proper date," he answered ardently, leaning over to tower over her. "I developed quite a liking to many Human customs since my time among them... prolonged courtship and the _benefits_ that followed have always been very appealing to me," he grinned, leaning in to lay a soft kiss on her mouth.

Naomi cupped his cheeks and parted her lips, sighing blissfully as his skilled tongue overpowered her senses once more. Icheb was her drug and she was completely addicted. "Sure you can't stay for a few more minutes?" she asked between kisses.

Icheb groaned in frustration, his hands betraying him, pulling her underneath him, sliding over her naked body. "I really _really_ wish I could..." he sighed, dragging himself away from her. Naomi watched him pull away from her, trying not to protest as he stood from the bed. Instead, she took the opportunity to admire his gloriously attractive physique. Icheb noticed her checking him out and both blushed and puffed his chest at once, though made no move to cover himself. Icheb moved toward his bathroom with long, confident strides, letting her eyes scan his muscled naked form.

"I'll say one thing," Naomi grinned as she settled into the warm bed. "The _view_ here is _certainly_ much nicer than I got in my dorm!" she mentioned

"I'm glad you approve," Icheb smirked, pausing at the bathroom door and glancing back at her invitingly. "Join me?" he offered with half-lidded eyes. Icheb was on full seduction mode and it took Naomi only about two seconds to decide on his offer, springing from the bed and following him in.

Two and a half hours later, after waiting a little for another officer to report in, Icheb stood dressed in his formal uniform before Starfleet council. Icheb spent the next hour explaining in detail what he had limited time to put into his report, including his trouble with the Queen and his subsequent treatment from the doctor, Troi, and Tuvok. After he finished, he stood waiting for them to address him. "Captain Hansen," Admiral Quin began, reviewing the report with the other Admirals. "Four of Admiral Janeway's allies have given their interest in joining the Federation. That is very good news," he smiled at the young man. "We were expecting a few, but four distinct races is impressive."

"Thank you, sir," Icheb replied. "They have agreed to meet with the council. Per your suggestion I have arranged a meet with them in three weeks."

"Excellent work, Captain. We'll arrange the details and give you the briefing for your next mission in due time," said Admiral Holt.

"Yes sir," Icheb inclined his head.

"In the meantime, enjoy your shore leave," Kathryn smiled.

"Yes sir," Icheb smiled and paused, thinking of how to broach the new topic.

The council detected his hesitation. "Was there something else, Captain Hansen?" Admiral Paris inquired.

Icheb adjusted his stance and nodded slowly. "There was one other things I wanted to address, sirs. It is of a... personal matter."

"What's on your mind son?" the Admiral asked curiously.

Icheb shifted nervously a little. "While it is not prohibited, I wish to ask for a blessing from the council."

Kathryn grinned to herself, having an idea what he may be asking for. "What sort of blessing?" she asked curiously.

"The blessing to marry, following human customs. I wish to marry _Ensign_ Naomi Wildman. I know it is within our rights to do so... I simply wanted the opinion of the council," Icheb explained, a not so subtle determination in his tone.

Kathryn felt as though her cheeks would tear at the strength of her smile. So she was right! Admiral Paris smiled kindly at the young man, sharing a similar look from the others. They had been aware of the friendship between the two, had seen on an occasion or two them sharing breakfast or simply walking through the academy courtyards. While a relationship between a cadet and a professor was not looked upon kindly, especially if conflict of interest and favoritism was involved, they appreciated the discreteness they showed, the level of restraint they, at least outwardly displayed. For two officers it was different, regulations were set to limit their involvement with each other, however, considering the level of unusual circumstances between them and their seamless ability to work under extremely stressful situations merited an exception... so long as they could continue to work as professionally and as well as they seemed to be able to during the Borg crisis. Admiral Paris told Icheb as much, relating the regulations they would have to follow, even with the few exceptions they would receive.

"Congratulations on your engagement, son," Admiral Paris smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Icheb restrained his grin, noticing the warm look from Kathryn as well. A little bit later, Icheb found himself seeking Kathryn's advice, who very happily took him under her wing, explaining how to properly woo her betrothed and even helped him with a certain little purchase. To say he was grateful to her would be a huge understatement. Now all he had to do was ask for Naomi's dad's blessing and he'd be set! Somehow though, asking for his blessing seemed a lot more intimidating than facing the council... or an entire hive of Borg, if he were being honest, no matter how much higher in the chain of command Icheb was! He couldn't exactly _order_ a blessing from the older man, after all. Fortunately, when the time came, Icheb would find that Greskrendtregk had known about him and Naomi's whirlwind relationship and would give him the blessing he sought... including a painful threat against his life if he hurt his daughter. Icheb could live with that.

That afternoon, Icheb was both relieved and a little disappointed when he didn't find Naomi at his apartment, but was glad she had taken his suggestion and went off to do something more entertaining than wait around for him. He used the time allotted to him to review possible mission openings for the coming month. Starfleet had been clear with him that as a bonefide Captain and one of the few that had traveled to the Delta Quadrant he would be expected to do more missions in that sector more often. His duties as a professor had always been temporary, though they had the possibility of becoming permanent if a proper Astrometrics professor had not been found. As it were, Tuvok had decided to stay at the academy as a professor, taking over for him, and to pursue his own projects, so Icheb would have to search for a new tactical officer.

That evening, Icheb found himself standing before Naomi at her parents house with a bottle of Antarian Cider in one hand and Belgium chocolates in the other. Naomi grinned at him, especially at the uncharacteristically casual way of dressing he chose. He wore dark blue jeans, a belt visible under a gray tee-shirt, and a black form-fitted blazer over it, the sleeves rolled up to expose his toned arms. Clearly he was over his autumn color phase and Naomi thanked God he knew how to dress to make him look amazing. His vibrant, sleek jaw strap outlined his chiseled jaw and chin attractively and his short black hair was left in a way that looked like he had simply drawn his fingers through it, giving him an almost out-of-bed, roguish look. Naomi had half a mind to forget about dinner and pull him into her house, toss him on the couch, and have her wicked way with him. That could wait until later though... if they made it that far.

"Naomi Wildman," Icheb greeted her with a disarming smile.

Naomi felt her breath leave her for a second, focusing on responding to him. "Icheb Hansen. You certainly know how to treat a lady well," she grinned, accepting the gifts and letting him in while she went to put the delicious items away for later use. As she stepped from the counter were she had placed the items, she bumped into Icheb who stood behind her. She smiled and held still, her head tilted slightly as he circled his arms around her, laying a pleasing kiss on her exposed shoulder from her dark red halter top.

"You look beautiful," he murmured simply.

Naomi shivered pleasantly and turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck as their lips met. "We should go before..."

"Before what?" Icheb asked teasingly, leaning back a little to search her eyes.

Naomi grinned, stroking his jaw fondly. "Before we forget about dinner," she replied playfully.

Icheb tilted his head a little, a soft smirk gracing his lips. "Would that be such a bad thing?"

"It would," Naomi nodded. "I'm starving! Come on," she took his hand and tugged him forward, smiling when he didn't even protest. Ever the gentleman, Icheb opened the doors for her and escorted her, holding her arm in his, wherever they went. They had a wonderful time together, their first official date without so much as a tiny hitch. The relief they felt at being able to do this in public, and the great news of the council's blessing as well, let them enjoy their evening with the most delight they had felt in a long time. Finally, they could be together at an official capacity and not have to worry about regulations getting in the way!

As the evening drew to a close, they returned to the apartment. Naomi was a little wary when Icheb had insisted she try one of the chocolates he had gotten her. It was to her astonishingly wonderful surprise that when she opened the neatly wrapped box, complete with a tidy little ribbon, that in the center it contained a beautiful ring, a rosy and tastefully sized diamond in the center with two smaller ones on either side. "Oh, Icheb..!" she gasped, watching him take the ring and her hand.

"It's a human custom Kathryn had explained to me," he told her, slipping the ring onto her finger, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "It is fortunate that my ocular implant enhanced vision accurately detected the proper dimensions of you finger," he grinned.

"Hmm, in other words, you guessed right," the half Ktarian teased.

Icheb laughed softly, nodding in agreement and eagerly accepted her happy embrace, catching her when she jumped into his arms. "Another very pleasant custom I know of usually happens the night _after_ marriage, but I think we can skip ahead a little, don't you think?"

"I like the way you think," Naomi said with a gleaming smile. When he picked her up then, wrapping her legs around his middle, Naomi snatched the bottle of cider from the counter, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her over to the bedroom.

Two weeks later, after Kathryn announced that they would be having the delayed ten year reunion at her estate, Naomi stood in her room, tossing clothes on the bed where her once again pregnant mother sat, watching her in amusement. "Sweetheart, just wear what makes you feel beautiful," Samantha advised. The older woman and her husband had been given leave to join in on the festivities. It had helped that Kathryn, one of the council members and an Admiral, had a hand in letting that happen.

"I know! I just... want it to be perfect," Naomi said distractedly, pulling out a red dress from her closet and inspecting herself in her door mirror. "...No, too flashy..." she mumbled, disappearing into her closet again. Samantha rolled her eyes fondly, knowing her daughter just wanted to please her betrothed, feeling giddy again at the fact her daughter was getting married! She probably also wanted to look fantastic when she and Icheb announced it to the group, if that was their plan for that evening. In the end, Naomi chose an aqua-marine dress with silver lacing on the edges, the color making her eyes pop, and silver strap heels.

Elsewhere, Icheb stood with Chakotay, Kathryn, Tom, B'elanna, and the doctor while they waited for everyone else to arrive. He was glad he wasn't the only one dressed in an 'old fashion' formal-casual ware, as the style from the twenty-first century seemed to be coming back. Styles always seemed to recycle. He wore gray slacks, matching gray vest over a black button-up shirt, and black dress shoes. Dressed to kill, as Tom had put it, then Icheb spent the rest of the time trying to ignore knowing smirks.

When Naomi arrived Icheb lost all focus on everyone and anything else besides her. He watched her mingle with their friends, as he had been complimented on his fitness and how handsome he had grown, Naomi had been given similar treatment, admired for her own graceful growth and brilliant beauty. To Icheb, Naomi was a vivacious supernova amidst a sea of blackness, so dazzling and incandescent that nothing else could compare. They met each other in the center of the room, unaware of the eyes on them as they reached for each other, smiling, caressing, expressing their appreciation for each other.

Each member of the group that had made the senior staff of Voyager watched the now grown former children of the beloved ship seek each other out like magnets. As the music played they fell into step, eager to be in each others arms as they swayed to the music. Like two stars being pulled together by their own gravity, they orbited each other in perfect harmony. The crew grinned fondly at the beautiful pair the two made, the lack of reservation from protocol that no longer hindered them allowing them to express their feelings for each other more freely.

Neelix stood by Tuvok, smiling brilliantly at the sight. "Look at that! Who would have thought those two would make such a wonderful pair?"

Tuvok lifted a brow in agreement. "Indeed."

"It is pleasing that they are as close to perfection for each other as they can be. It was inevitable for them to find each other," Seven mentioned as she walked over, accepting the excited affectionate hug from the Talaxian. "It is good to see you, Neelix," she smiled.

"Seven! It's so wonderful! I'm so happy to be here!" Neelix grinned, wiping happy tears from his cheeks. "Don't tell me you had a hand in their pairing?"

Seven smiled enigmatically. "I may or may not have had a hand in setting up Naomi's schedule, making sure she would have her first class with him."

"You sneak," Neelix grinned.

"I had simply wanted the girl to have a familiar face while at the academy, have a friend to lean on in an unfamiliar surrounding," the former Borg explained. Seven had known the former instructor to Astrometrics was going to be transferred and her son would be taking over temporarily. It hadn't taken much at all to get Kate's help in tweaking Naomi's schedule. Neither of them had imagined that the two would fall for each other, though it was a happy result nonetheless. "I may have adopted Icheb, but Naomi is still a treasured friend," she said softly as she watched two of the most important people to her gaze adoringly at each other as they danced.

As the party drew to a close, Icheb and Naomi decided it was time to announce their engagement. Naomi took her champagne glass and a stirring spoon, gently tapping it to get the attention of the others. "I figured old tricks to grab attention at parties would work, right?" she mused. Having appropriately achieved the desired result, all eyes on them, Naomi felt a little nervous suddenly, feeling very much like she was part of a reunion of family and they would somehow judge them. She knew that wouldn't be the case, but it still felt a little tense. Naomi relaxed when Icheb took her hand, giving her a supportive smile.

"We have an announcement to make," Icheb said, his gaze still on Naomi. Kathryn grinned when Chakotay gave her a questioning look, having sensed all night that the former Captain had been hiding something.

Naomi felt the excitement return and she lifted her hand, showing it off to the whole congregation. "We're engaged," she announced, doing everything she could to not burst with enthusiasm. An uproar of cheering erupted from the group and everyone wanted a chance to look at the ring, congratulate them, and give them their own blessings.

Neelix blinked in confusion a little. "Engaged?" he asked no one in particular. While Neelix understood most phrases his friends used, sometimes some of them escaped him. It wasn't too long that he had been introduced to the concept of submersing himself in water to bathe, after all. Neelix was aware of marriage, had himself been married and then again with Dexa, but their courting was different. Kathryn, who had been near him at the buffet table explained the courting custom and ceremonial traditions before a couple became mated pair, or got married as it was called for Humans and a few other races that followed similar traditions. Fortunately humans preferred to keep their clothes _on_ during their ceremonies... well, most humans did anyway. Neelix was beside himself with happiness for his goddaughter and Icheb, hugging them both and wishing them the very best.

After Icheb and Naomi explained to those eager to know when they would 'tie the knot' would be, that they would wait a little longer, wanting to both extend the romance a little more and at the same time settle in their new careers, they had another unexpected guest pop in. Q2 appeared, as usual, out of nowhere and hugged them both, congratulating them and telling them that he had waited far longer than either of them could perceive for them to finally get on with it. Icheb and Naomi blushed but greeted their friend happily, both of them slightly embarrassed by the stories Q2 told the crew of them, though stayed tactful about it, and how he had been rooting for them from the start.

One week after receiving their official orders, Voyager was slated to embark on a new mission into the Delta Quadrant, with the Intrepid at her side. Chakotay had jumped to the opportunity to partnering with Voyager. Starfleet had decided that for the time being, Voyager would go on missions into the Delta Quadrant with one or more ships, in case something went wrong. The ships that went with them would be fitted to handling the worst of conditions, even armed to fight the Borg if necessary. The Intrepid was not a warship like Voyager, but she had been outfitted with the latest upgrades and could hold her own if things got ugly.

Naomi Wildman smiled as she made her want to Astrometrics, now a bonafide Ensign and the _chief_ of Astrometrics to boot! As she traced her fingers over her console fondly, she remembered how it was when she had been offered the chance to serve aboard during the fateful mission, how it had been to have Lieutenant Jeremiah watching her every move and eventually earning his respect and friendship. The Lieutenant had been given a commission to serve aboard the Aventine, under Captain Ezri Dax, as their chief of Astrometrics, having readily accepted the career building opportunity. While Naomi felt a little sad at not having the company, she was happy for him and very excited over her own opportunity. Of course not to mention officially being back home and being able to serve with her Captain and fiancé!

Elsewhere, as Icheb walked onto the bridge, Lieutenant Williams was the first to see him, standing from his station and announcing that the Captain was on the bridge. Icheb watched his crew stand to attention, all turning to face him with respect. "At ease," Icheb smiled humbly at them. While he no longer felt worthless and like he couldn't handle being a Captain, he still felt as though his crew deserved more credit than they got. The good thing about his first initial push as a temporary Captain was his trial by fire that served to burn away his and everyone else's doubts for his leadership. Every crew member aboard that ship had been under his command during the crisis, whether it was aboard Voyager or aboard supporting ships. No one doubted his strategic prowess or ability to lead.

Icheb had a large list to go through to replace Tuvok as his chief of security and tactical officer. In the end, he settled for Lieutenant Reed, the officer that had taken over for Tuvok during the initial mission back to the Delta Quadrant. As he understood it, Patrick Reed was a great grandson of one of the first members aboard the NX-class Enterprise. During his time getting to know the young officer, he had displayed an aptitude for preventive measurements and tactical abilities that suited the role. He decided no one could really replace Tuvok aboard Voyager, but the Lieutenant had earned his and a lot of the crews respect aboard the ship. Now that his crew was in order and the Intrepid stood by to assist them, they could carry on with their mission to unite the galaxy, one planet at a time.

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the warship Voyager; its ever present mission to explore the galaxy, to connect the systems, to seek out her allies, and to boldly go _back_ to where no other Federation starship has gone before...

 _The End..?_

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 **End A/N** : Woo! What a ride! Yes, this is the end, I'm sorry if you were expecting more and I'm sorry it took me a little to update it. For some reason I always have trouble writing the last chapter... maybe because I don't want it to end either! I hope you've all enjoyed this revision as much as I enjoyed revising it! I couldn't do a 10 years later fic without a 10 year reunion, now could I? This chapter was influenced by "Just One Second (Apex Remix)" by London Elektricity, I guess you could call it the "end credits" song too.

Happy news! In case you're hoping and wondering, yes, I _am_ planning a sequel. I feel satisfied that I've developed the characters well enough this time to continue their adventures. I have the plot and outline of it finished already and it's ready to write... and let me tell you, it is _very_ sci-fi! I don't know when I'll get to it though. Your reviews over this story will greatly help encourage me! Please do tell me what you thought of this! I'd really appreciate the feedback and support.

Also, feel free to give me ideas for other Icheb/Naomi related goodness, oneshots, spin offs, and also ideas to integrate into the sequel when I write it. Whatever you request, if I use it, I will credit you fully. Take care my lovelies!

Shout-Out

 **MissSarahG1:** Thank you! Of course I would have Neelix! He's part of the original Voyager crew, after all! And of course Icheb would propose to her lol they've been in love with each other since they reunited nearly two years ago! 'Tis inevitable! I'm super happy you enjoyed this story! Stay tuned for the eventual sequel!


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